The Social Scene
by hashtag88
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha is a well-known name amongst the glittering Tokyo socialites. However, Sakura is just an uninterested waitress... who's about to experience the full extent of Sasuke's power, charm and obsession to conquer all women. SakuxSasu SakuxGaara-ish
1. Plastic Jungle

disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

_The Social Scene_

_Chapter 1_

_I escaped through a keyhole before they erased me_  
><em>I married the beetle and learned to be graceful<em>  
><em>It's why all this warfare pours out of my eyes.<em>

_- Miike Snow_

* * *

><p>"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Sakura cried over and over again as she rushed down a bustling Tokyo street, apologizing profusely when she accidently bumped into people. However, she kept on running to her destination, regretting how late she had become for her job when she had decided to plug in her Beats, listen to Arctic Monkeys on full volume and completely lose track of the world… except that also meant losing track of the time.<p>

She had never been late to one of her part-time jobs, but fate had dealt her an extremely unlucky hand that morning. She knew how snobbish her employers could be and they always liked to have the best of the best; because, of course, she was a waitress for all the fancy parties and dinners that the Tokyo-equivalent-of-the-Upper-East-Side loved to host.

When she reached the Cerulean Tower Hotel in the Shibuya district, she raced through the front doors, ignoring the doormen who tried to rush to get the door before her. She hastily made her way to the Ballroom, which could occupy over a thousand guests, but as she ran through the doors, out of breath and exhausted, she hadn't realized she had run in on a room full of seated people in formal gowns and suits. The event had seemingly just started and a man in his forties or fifties was giving a speech to his guests, his champagne flute held in the air.

She gulped when the whole room turned to look at who had made such a commotion coming through the main doors. She hadn't realized she was _this_ late. All the waiters and waitresses were supposed to come an hour before the event started, and it now seemed that they were about half an hour into it; which ultimately meant she was approximately 90 minutes late… her boss was so going to kill her – of course, not before firing her.

The man on the stage tried to get everyone's attention back onto him, but when it failed, he said a meek 'excuse me' whilst he walked off stage, and stalked angrily towards Sakura.

It was way too late to flee out of the room when she realized that the guy coming towards her was most definitely her employer. He had already come over and grabbed her upper arm, dragging her towards the back of the large ballroom, towards the kitchen. Many people's eyes followed them, engrossed in any new gossip they could get their hands on.

He took one look at her and had already deduced that she must have been a waitress; her unruly hair that hung down to her waist, grey Dr. Martens, leggings, an oversized Guns 'N' Roses band t-shirt and a knitted, large scarf slung around her neck. "Why the hell are you so late?" he hissed out, trying to be discreet, but his harsh tone made it clear to the whole ballroom that he was obviously pissed.

"I'm _really_ sorry!" she said, her sincerity true to her words. "I lost track of the time and you wouldn't believe how busy the streets of Shibuya are at this time of day!"

"I don't fucking care about your lame-ass excuses," her boss said with an extremely hurtful tone. "I should fire you, you know…"

"I know, I know, but you've got to believe me when I say I'm really sorry and I promise I'll never be late again."

"You better not be! This is an insult to my son! Instead of apologizing to me, you should be apologizing to him."

_Now_ she remembered! This event was hosted by Fugaku Uchiha, who was her employer and also owned about half of Japan with Uchiha Industries. He was throwing a formal dinner for all the socialites, businessmen and, generally, the super wealthy in a tribute to his son, who had just been named the new heir, after his eldest son had decided to give up this title in pursuit of a career in music.

She bowed quickly, before exclaiming another string of apologies, until a low voice from behind her startled her into whipping around so abruptly, that she saw the whole room as a blurred, unfocused mass of pixilation.

"Father, is everything alright?" It was the voice of a male, definitely young, and his voice held a baritone that most people found utterly absorbing and difficult to forget. This voice gave away every single characteristic that this male possessed. Straight away, Sakura could decipher that she already didn't like this punk. His voice mirrored his arrogance, vanity, selfishness, his skills in the art of manipulation and his untrustworthiness.

When her eyes were focused again, they slid from the man's solid build, attired in a suit that smelt of Dolce and threads that cost as much as a year of her wages, and finally slid high enough to catch a good look at his face.

She had to give it to him though; he was handsome in an iconic, 'Abercrombie' kind of way. His jaw was sharp, his eyes were stoic, and his hair was black and _looked _effortless, even though, realistically, it took this guy an hour to style every morning. She internally scoffed at this, but kept her outer appearance professional, as she gave a slight bow to him in greeting. After all, it was her job to please the rich kids.

"Everything's fine, Sasuke," Fugaku said, shrugging his shoulders in an act of feigned nonchalance. He walked around Sakura to grasp his son's shoulder as he slyly slid away from the scene, not before glaring over his shoulder to scold Sakura and hiss out, "Get your damn uniform on and start doing your job!"

She glared at his retreating back for a few moments, and she could have sworn she saw her employer's son, Sasuke, turn over his shoulder to give her an amused smirk.

Nevertheless, the pay for this job was good, and she wasn't going to let any more mishaps get her properly fired, so she did as she was told and immediately headed for the toilets, where she stuffed her old clothes into a tote bag and threw on a pristine white shirt, a black skirt and a simple black waist apron.

Throwing her tote bag into a locker, she headed out of the kitchen again with a tray in her hands this time, and an intention to serve tables and stay low for the rest of the evening.

She picked up a few empty glasses from around the room, but at the table she stopped at next, she happened to bump into Sasuke Uchiha again.

He was standing up, seemingly just visiting and talking to a guy at the table. He was leant over the shoulder of his friend's chair and laughing about something, but when he caught a hint of pink in the peripheral of his vision, he stopped mid-sentence of what he was saying to stand up taller.

He graced her with another small, arrogant smirk, which she passively ignored and continued to pick up the glasses from the table.

"Whoa, who's that girl with the wild hair?" Sasuke heard Naruto comment lowly, so as to be sure that the said person didn't hear.

He smirked at his best friend's comment and casually replied, "Just some chick that my dad hired to be a waitress for the evening."

"Waitress or not, she's mighty fine," Naruto said, whilst whistling lowly.

By this time, Sakura had made a full round of the table, and went past the two boys again, who weren't doing such a good job at _slyly_ checking her out. Nevertheless, she ignored their intimidating looks and went on by, before a hand wrapped gently around her wrist. She turned around calmly, thinking it was just another guest who wanted another drink. But instead, it was Sasuke's blonde friend.

"_Hell-low_," he introduced in a slow, almost patronising way. "My name is _Na-ru-to_." He stressed every syllable of his name, to accentuate his words, but Sakura didn't get it. She was beyond confused, and she simply raised a neat eyebrow at him. He tried again, this time pointing towards himself, "My _name_ is Na-Ru-To. Na-Ru-To U-Zu-Maki. What is _your_ name?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. And then it clicked. This had happened a million times before, where people came up to introduce themselves to her and they had spoken as if she were a baby. This was simply because her appearance was deceiving, as she was half-Japanese, half-English. Her father was born in Kyoto but went to study in England when he was 19, and that's where he met her mother. Sakura was born with the dominant features of her mum, which meant that many of the Japanese mistook her for being a foreigner. But that still didn't explain her natural pink hair.

She could see Sasuke laughing silently behind his friend, knowing full well that she could speak their language. However, he wanted to see how it played out, not warning his friend, and instead studying the face of this girl, which caught the light perfectly where she was standing.

Casually, with a hint of mirth in her tone, she replied in fluent Japanese, "My name's Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you, Na-ru-to U-zu-maki." She couldn't help but to mock him. It was just too irresistible and she saw Sasuke try to cover his chuckles with the back of his hand.

As for the poor fellow, he stared at her in shock, slowly turning a light shade of pink in his embarrassment. But his shame didn't last long as his face lit up with a bright grin a few seconds later and he rubbed the back of head abashedly. "Ahaha, my bad; I just thought you were a foreigner because-"

"-I look like one, right?" Sakura interrupted, now balancing the tray in one hand, whilst the other was placed elegantly on her hip. "...Well, appearances can be deceiving." She gave them both a light smile, before she turned back around to walk away, not before adding over her shoulder, "See you boys later," although it was only said to be polite, and not because she actually _wanted_ to see them again.

However, Sasuke took it literally and guaranteed to himself that he would _definitely_ see her again.

* * *

><p><em>Inspiration: Watching Shibuhara Girls in cantonese when I was in Hong Kong (even though I didn't understand a single word), Fitzgerald and of course, Gossip Girl<em>

_I can't believe this is my second story in a week, but I'm really enjoying writing this. Review please!_


	2. Just Tonight

_The Social Scene_

_Chapter 2_

_But just tonight I won't leave_  
><em>I'll lie and you'll believe<em>  
><em>Just tonight I will see<em>  
><em>It's all because of me<em>

_ - The Pretty Reckless_

* * *

><p>She had only received the call for her next gig the morning of the same day that she was due for work. The ring tone from her mobile resonated through her room, awaking her from her slumber. She opened her eyes groggily, glancing at the time and internally cursing when she read the crimson digits flashing at her like a neon sign - 5:30am.<p>

It was a Sunday and one of her only days off from university, yet someone had dared to disturb her rare sleep. Nevertheless, she glanced at who was calling and realised it was one of the regular wealthy hostesses, no doubt calling about another event she had to wait on.

Reluctantly, she picked up her iPhone from her bedside table and answered the call, greeting the other line with a rather rude, blunt "Hello?"

"_Oh hai_," replied the caller chirpily. "_I hope I didn't wake you..."_

'_What is this woman on?'_ she thought internally, wincing at the lady's merry voice. However, she replied with a small shake of her head and a polite 'no', which was customary when talking to the people who literally paid her university fees.

"_Great! Listen, Sakura, I know it's short notice, but I've got a brunch later today catering for 200 people, but we were down a waitress, so..._"

"I'll do it," she said simply, before hanging up abruptly without another word being shared between them. She slammed her phone back onto her table angrily, before she reclined back into her warm duvets. However, before she could fall back asleep, she was jolted from her bed once again when her phone flashed at her and her ringtone once again vibrated throughout the room.

Frustrated, she threw her duvet covers off her and sitting up in her bed, she grabbed her phone without looking at who was calling and accepted the call. "What?" she rudely answered, but she was too tired and pissed off to truly care.

"_Is that any way to speak to your future employer?_" the other line answered in a suave tone; and just by that tone, Sakura instantly recognised the voice.

"Uchiha..." she spat out, none-too-pleasantly. "How did you get my number?" she asked, with a hint of annoyance trying to break the restraints on her voice.

"_Well, I am well-connected amongst the Tokyo scene..._" he said in a patronising way, as if this were common knowledge, which made Sakura boil beneath the surface.

Although his answer was vague, Sakura ignored this and continued with the questions that were plaguing her curiosity. "Why are you calling me so early? What do you want? ...And what the hell do you mean: 'future employer'?" She couldn't help but to utilise her harshest voice; after all, her closest friends knew her as a little spitfire when she was angry – and right now, she was _beyond_ just angry.

"_Early?"_ he replied, a little incredulously. _"To be honest, I haven't even gone home or slept a wink yet. Went to this wild party last night; who knew I would be out until dawn."_

"Yeah, whatever, Uchiha, I don't care about your crazy night. Just answer the other questions."

"_Ouch, you're really moody in the mornings, aren't you?" _he said, chuckling through the receiver. Nevertheless, his attempt at drawing another heated reaction from her failed as she breathed in a deep breath, trying hard to control her emotions. _"And what I meant by 'future employer' was just to let you know that when I take over my father's empire, I'll be hiring you to grace every event that I hold."_

She scoffed as she replied back, "I'm a waitress. Not a celebrity or model."

Her last statement actually made her think; when the words came out of her mouth, she realised that even though she hated to admit these shallow ideas, she didn't have the slightest clue as to why Sasuke was calling such an insignificant person such as she, when his life was full of other more beautiful, more intelligent and more talented people than herself.

And then, it was as if a light bulb turned on above her head. "Are you still drunk...?" she cautiously asked. Wow, it must have been a _really _wild night if he was still intoxicated, despite it being the early morning.

When she heard a light chuckle on the other side of the line, she realised that Uchiha's just shouldn't normally be this giddy or talkative when completely sober. Even though she had only met him that one time, despite all the events that she had attended as a waitress before, she had known that he was a reserved character with his words, but when it came to things like the media, he talked with his actions.

"Is this why you're calling me? You're still drunk and so you happened to stumble across my number in your phonebook and... here we are now, having the world's most pointless conversation..." Her sarcasm was explicit in her tone, but in his tipsy state, Sasuke couldn't quite register it. However, he managed to understand her general anger towards his state.

"_I didn't just call you because of that," _he clumsily said._ "I just wanted to know if you were fre- Oh, _shit_!"_

She could hear a slight clattering over the line, and a loud car honking, which instantly worried her as she tensed and cried through the phone, "Oh my god! Uchiha, are you still there? Uchiha?"

She heard a stumble and feared the worst; it sounded as if he had been run over by a car! However, a few minutes later, there was a small rustle and she heard the slurring words come through the other line, much to her relief.

"Uchiha, are you there?" she repeated.

"_Yeah, it's cool, it's cool_," he said calmly. "_Just some stupid driver wasn't looking where he was going and I dropped my mobile when I tried to dodge..."_

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to get her worried heartbeat back to its normal pace. "You could've gotten killed, Uchiha," she said in a deadpan, although she wasn't even sure why she cared.

"_Hn."_

And he obviously didn't care either.

"Where are you?" she said in an exasperated voice.

"_Err..."_ she could almost imagine him whipping his head around in a daze to find his bearings. "_Roppongi_," he replied, referring to one of Tokyo's most wealthy districts, home to nightclubs, foreign embassies, offices and high-rise apartments.

"Look, I'm concerned for you right now, so I'm going to make my way over there. You just stay where you are, okay?" she said sternly, hearing his low, obviously pleased hum on the other end of the line. She simply rolled her eyes, considering the possibility that this was exactly what he had planned.

.&.

When she was out of her apartment, dressed in the first clothing articles she could find, which happened to be a pair of light-wash denim shorts and a simple beige tank top, with a hooded jacket and a pair of ankle boots, she could tell that the sun was just about to rise. The streets were busy nonetheless, filled with businessmen on the way to the office. She grabbed the metro, hopping onto the silver Hibiya line, on her way straight to Roppongi.

When she arrived at the Roppongi station, she made her way to the quiet streets, glancing around her in search of the Uchiha. When she spotted him, chilling and sitting on the edge of a stone fountain, she walked over and plopped down ungracefully next to him.

"You're such an idiot," she greeted angrily, gritting her teeth.

"Hey!" he said defensively. "You decided to come here and help me."

She sighed, knowing he was right, but now that she was here, witnessing the state of him, her help seemed extremely necessary. His hair was an unruly mess, his eyes were bloodshot, his clothes were dishevelled and he looked as if he had beer spilt down the front of him. But the thing was, he looked like he didn't even care about his appearance right now, which was only a sign of how Sasuke must have been so drunk only a few hours ago.

She couldn't help it that it was in her nature to care for people, no matter how annoying, arrogant, self-centred or vain they were. After all, she was at university studying for her degree in medicine.

She took another good look at him and deduced that he should drink some water. "Wait here," she ordered vaguely, hopping off the fountain and running towards a 7-Eleven store, quickly buying a bottle of water in the space of less than a minute. However, when she made her way back towards where they were both seated previously, she didn't see any sign of Sasuke.

Panicking, she glanced around the area, only lit dimly by the street lamps, but nevertheless, he was nowhere in sight. He was such a little kid! She gritted her teeth in annoyance, rolling her fists into little balls and wanting to scream into the air. However, before she could, her mobile vibrated and sang out its usual tune, the screen showing that Sasuke was calling from wherever he had run off to.

"Uchiha, where the hell did you go?" she all but screamed in aggravation through the phone.

She could hear his low, annoyingly arrogant chuckle before he replied, "_Follow my instructions..._"

His next words lead her down the street, through a small alleyway wedged between two large buildings, clambering ungracefully up a wall, onto the rooftop of a small garage, down into a hidden pathway lined with trees, into a small concrete clearing, into a forest of trees and finally out into green and grey space. Her hair and clothes were all dirtied up by the time she arrived, but when she looked up, she couldn't help the light gasp that escaped her, as she hung up the call from her mobile. Surrounding her was a clearing between dense trees but straight ahead was a cliff edge, looking over the whole city of Roppongi and beyond. You could still see a few lights blaring in the distance from the night before. But now, as it was approaching 7am, the sun was slowly rising along the horizon, and _wow_, was it such a gorgeous scene.

Sasuke was smiling up at her from his seat on the edge of the cliff with his legs dangling casually over. She sat down next to him, fully appreciating the view.

"Who knew such a gorgeous sight like this existed in the whole of Tokyo!" she exclaimed with a magnetic beam upon her dainty face. Then she turned her gaze cheekily to her companion. "I've got to hand it to you, Uchiha – you were the last person I'd have _ever_ thought who would lead me to this magical place."

"I've never brought anyone to this place. It's my personal Mecca, my enlightenment zone. Where I just go to get away from the world."

She looked at him genuinely as he modestly picked a few weeds from beneath his fingers. She could see it wasn't just the alcohol talking – he looked completely sobered up now and his words were coming from his lips in waves of honesty. A part of Sasuke's humanity had been revealed to Sakura which she had never thought she'd see especially since she had felt an instant dislike to him the first time they met.

Yet, she couldn't help feel a tugging at the back of her mind, which plagued her with curiosity. "Then why did you pick me to show this place to? I mean, we barely know each other."

He raised his eyes up to meet her own and answered in a soft murmur. "Because I'd like to get to know you more..."

"..." Sakura was left speechless in the wake of his answer. She was just blown away with how sincere he sounded when he had shown next to no emotions to everyone else he talked to. Finally, she was able to piece her logic together and find her words. "I don't get you, Uchiha," she started bluntly. "Out of all the beautiful, rich women that surround your glamorous lifestyle every day, you pick a plain-Jane, average, uninteresting university student, slash part-time waitress. I'm sorry, Uchiha, I'm just not convinced."

Yes, that's right – she wasn't sold on the idea that he was being genuine when he said all that heroic, romantic crap. It was just so out-of-character to the person she had picked up a million and one rumours about since they first met. Apparently, he was a player, a womaniser and an ungrateful jerk that just lived off his dad's money, yet apparently, the women still flocked to him knowing full well that he could snap their gullible hearts in two as he so pleased.

That's why Sasuke was going to learn that it would be a lot harder than he could ever imagine to try and convince Sakura Haruno of any of the bullshit that came out of his mouth.

* * *

><p><em>Promise you that the next chapter will be way more interesting... :)<em>

_Also, I just totally cried at my first time watching Benjamin Button, it's so moving. Understood it completely, it was so beautiful..._

_Review, s'il vous plait? Mucho love to readers_


	3. Say Anything

_The Social Scene_

_Chapter 3_

_I never took you for a trick, but _  
><em>Sometimes, I don't know what you want <em>  
><em>I can take it if you need to, <em>  
><em>Take this out on someone <em>

_ - Marianas Trench_

_Note: brace yourself for the flashback._

* * *

><p><em>He raised his eyes up to meet her own and answered in a soft murmur. "Because I'd like to get to know you more..."<em>

"_I don't get you, Uchiha," she started bluntly. "Out of all the beautiful, rich women that surround your glamorous lifestyle every day, you pick a plain-Jane, average, uninteresting university student, slash part-time waitress. I'm sorry, Uchiha, I'm just not convinced."_

12 Hours Previous: 7:30pm

"Dude, let's go, _please_," begged Naruto with an immature whining tone. "This dinner is boring me _out of my mind_."

Sasuke and Naruto were currently sitting through a dinner party hosted by Izanami Yamanaka, the mother of a well-known gossip, Ino, and wife to an extremely affluent businessman, Inoichi. Izanami was known all around Tokyo for her extravagant parties, and her daughter was particularly enthusiastic about these events. But this party seemed to lose some of its splendour by the fact that Sasuke and Naruto were surrounded by older people or uninteresting youths. Not even the daughter of the hostess could attend, and he wouldn't admit it, but Sasuke was internally disappointed that his favourite waitress wasn't working.

"Yeah, man," Sasuke agreed casually. "Kiba has a penthouse party going on near Harajuku. Want to go?"

"Definitely. Let's get out of here," Naruto said, relieved that he could be anywhere but where he was.

Walking out the room without a warning to anyone, including Sasuke's parents, they jumped onto the metro and headed towards Kiba's penthouse apartment, where, even stood at the ground floor entrance, they could feel the beating bass and the buzz of people's laughter.

They quickly headed towards the top floor with anticipated grins on their faces, and they weren't at all disappointed. As soon as the elevator doors opened, an onslaught of music, girls and alcohol flooded their visions, and they were instantly absorbed into this sinful world that secretly linked with the advantages of being a part of Tokyo's 'hottest' list.

In the space of a few hours, both Naruto and Sasuke had made out with at least seven girls and had gotten so drunk, it wouldn't be surprising if either one of them ended up paralytic on the floor.

However as the night rolled into the dark early uprisings of the morning, the pair began to get restless at their current party. They made their way onto the dark streets at 3:30am, but even so, the nightlife around Tokyo was still blaring at full volume. Neon signs flashed Japanese symbols promoting clubs, bars and strip joints.

Without much thought, they took a shared car (chauffeur-driven, of course) and made their way to the district they both lived in: Roppongi.

Once there, the two of them found a bench near an isolated park. They sat down lazily and popped open a can of beer each, sipping at it languidly.

Suddenly, Naruto broke the peaceful silence and dwelled on a subject that Sasuke currently found a little sensitive. "Hey, what happened to that pink-haired chick? You seen her since last week?"

At the mention of her, Sasuke instinctively tensed, but thankfully, Naruto was too dense to see it. "No," he replied simply through gritted teeth.

Naruto cautiously flicked his eyes over at Sasuke before looking out again over the park. His voice was carried over through the wind, a low mumble contrasting with his usually louder, rambunctious voice. "I got her number."

At this, Sasuke's head snapped up and he stared intently at his friend. "What?" he demanded, needing clarification as his tone was almost dripping with envious venom.

"I got her number," Naruto repeated, weary of how much pain he would be in if Sasuke took it the wrong way. Naruto knew that Sasuke was interested in the girl. At his tribute dinner last week, Sasuke's eyes almost never left her as she worked her way around the room. After all, Naruto had known Sasuke since they were young and never had a girl looked upon Sasuke with such passivity. However, this posed a problem, as Naruto had also developed a liking towards her. She seemed grounded, confident but not on the point of cocky. And she was funny, a nice relief from all the boring women in the world that they lived in.

"What? How?" insisted Sasuke, instantly dropping his stoic attitude that he showed around most people. Naruto was the only person he trusted enough to drop this facade so easily around.

"I just asked your dad for a list of all the waitresses' contact details. I just made some lame excuse about Ino wanting it for her next dinner party," Naruto replied nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders like it was nothing.

_Damn!_ Why didn't Sasuke think of that?

"But look, man, I haven't called her yet. I was just... waiting to see what you would say," Naruto admitted sincerely.

Although Naruto had proved himself to be a good friend by stating this, he was also a little conniving bastard!

"Give me her number." Sasuke's deadpan voice resonated clear in Naruto's mind, yet he couldn't completely decipher what Sasuke had said.

"What?" Naruto asked, his brows knitting together in confusion.

"Give me her number," Sasuke stressed again.

"No way, man!" Naruto defended, holding his mobile close to his chest defensively with one hand, the other holding his half-full beer can.

"Give it!" Sasuke demanded, with a hidden threat lying beneath his words. He tried to lean over and grab Naruto's phone, but Naruto held it out even further away from him.

However, they were too busy battling each other for Naruto's mobile that they didn't realise that Naruto's grip on his beer can was starting to loosen, and before they could blink, his can of Sapporo beer was spilt all down the front of Sasuke's top.

They both didn't move for a few good seconds, just watching as the golden liquid slowly stained through Sasuke's white t-shirt.

Finally Sasuke broke the silence. "Dude!" Sasuke exclaimed, holding out his soaked t-shirt to get a better look at the damage.

Naruto apologized guiltily, but couldn't help but think that if Sasuke hadn't been so eager for Sakura's number, the accident wouldn't have happened...

Nevertheless, they both sat down again, the spillage forgotten about as they silently sat a few paces away from each other.

"She wouldn't have gone for you anyways, dobe," Sasuke commented dryly, not removing his eyes from a distant street light, glowing like a firefly in the distance.

Naruto flicked his eyes over at Sasuke, but then grinned, as if to contradict this. "Oh, really? And you think that she would have gone for _you_ instead?" he asked rhetorically, chuckling at the very thought.

Sasuke fully turned around in his seat to glare threateningly at his best friend. "Er... Adonis," he gestured to himself, "versus ugly, moronic idiot." He then gestured to Naruto.

Naruto quickly retorted back. "Er... charmingly playful," he, too, gestured arrogantly to himself, "versus guy-with-a-stick-five-feet-up-his-own-arse." He gestured back to Sasuke with a smug little grin on his face, and Sasuke knew that this back-and-forth abuse would get them nowhere.

"Look, let's make a deal. I'm going to _show_ to you that Sakura Haruno can fall for me."

Naruto's interest was piqued when Sasuke mentioned this interesting deal. However, just one thing bothered him: "And I'm just going to sit back and watch?" he asked with slight apprehension and incredulity.

"You, Naruto, will sit back and _learn_ how it's supposed to be done," Sasuke replied with an overly-confident smirk on his features.

"Interesting..." Naruto admitted, before a smirk of his own appeared on his cheeky face. "But let's spice this up a bit. You have until New Year's Eve to get her to admit that she loves you... And if you don't do it in that time, you have to give her up completely and let someone else, _like me_, have a chance with her."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows a little at this, knowing full well that he was a sucker for a good challenge. New Year's Eve was approximately another four months away, but was it enough time to convert Sakura from her coldness towards him to actually making her feel something for him? Nevertheless, he never backed down from a challenge, and he gladly accepted Naruto's offer with a shake of the hand. "You're on," he said with a smirk that just screamed '_I'll never lose to this bastard'_, before he downed the rest of his beer, just for extra confidence.

7am: With Sakura

Sakura wasn't convinced, but Sasuke wasn't going to give up so easily.

"What part of me isn't convincing?" he asked innocently, curious as to what her spitfire personality was going to answer with.

"Try all of you, Uchiha," she retorted back quickly. "There's a reason why you're so notorious amongst the Tokyo scene..."

As much as he wouldn't admit it, she was completely right. She shouldn't have believed him because everything he had said had been because of the deal he had made with Naruto. This wasn't the first time he had shown this Tokyoite skyline to anyone else, despite telling Sakura she was the first; in fact, he regularly used this setting for a romantic picnic, before he lured a girl right into his brilliantly planned trap, behind well-concealed bushes, right on the picnic blanket.

Nevertheless, he wasn't going to let this put him off. Feigning ignorance, he replied confidently, "So would you say that you're unprepared to get to know someone better just because you've heard a load of bullshit, malicious rumours?"

She raised a brow at this. "Never," she replied simply, in which Sasuke was about to internally grin at his victory, until Sakura added, "But I'm also prepared to make an exception... just for you, Uchiha."

She got up to leave him in utter disbelief, but before she could leave the clearing, he hollered at her behind his shoulder with a newfound grin, which spoke of his amusement at how this was all playing out. "See you at the brunch in a few hours, Sakura," he said with confident undertones, fully knowing that he would be the last person on the planet Sakura would have wanted to see again...

* * *

><p><em>Paralytic = brit slang for drunkpissed, sorry for the confusion. _

_Yeah, so we had a little flashback in this chapter, which I always hate when I read, but I thought it was necessary. And honestly, I'm really sorry about the whole 'bet' thing between Naruto and Sasuke - it's so cliche! I see it in every story I read, but I write spontaneously, and i never know what I'm going to write next... It just seemed to fit in with what's happened... _

_But feel free to give criticisms that are fairly justified or to point out my errors, whether grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. I don't check my work very often, so yeahhh..._


	4. Human

_Social Scene_

_Chapter 4_

_I will not drink until I'm dead_  
><em>I'll make the most of it.<em>  
><em>I don't know what it's like to be alive,<em>  
><em>To say goodbye,<em>

_ - Ellie Goulding_

* * *

><p>Just knowing that Sasuke was going to be at the brunch made Sakura tempted to call up her employer last-minute and make up a lame excuse to cancel on her. How he even found out she was working this afternoon was beyond her. But for a moment there on the cliff edge, she had very almost believed him when all the romantic crap came spewing from his mouth – he seemed to have that affect on people, like he was pathologically lying to people just to manipulate them into feeling sorry for him. But what she saw in his eyes wasn't genuine, and that's what gave him away.<p>

When Sakura returned from Roppongi to her apartment, she hadn't any time to catch up on her lost sleep. Instantly, she was getting ready for her job, dressing in her usual waitressing attire, before she made her way to her employer's penthouse apartment on the top floor of a five-star hotel, where the brunch was going to happen. Sakura was one of the first people there, setting out the food and preparing the tables along with the other workers. She was dreading the moment when the elevator would open and in would step all the guests, including the Uchiha.

But nevertheless, she wouldn't let him distract her from her job and she planned on ignoring him for the next few hours. After all, the place was filling up pretty fast; there could be a chance that Sasuke wouldn't even see her.

But, as it so happened, Sasuke _didn't_ end up seeing her first. Naruto did.

"Hey! Sakura! Look, Sasuke, there's Sakura," he shouted from across the room just as he had exit the elevator. He pushed through the crowd, grabbing a champagne flute from a passing waiter on his way. He turned back, and without Sakura knowing that any words had even been exchanged between the two, he whispered to Sasuke, "I hope the bet is all working out, Sasuke. Remember: New Year's Eve is your deadline." He gave a cheeky wink over his shoulder, before turning back around and running up to the pink-haired waitress.

At the sight of the energetic blonde, Sakura couldn't help but to slink back slightly, trying to magically merge in with the egg-shell, baroque walls, but unfortunately, there was no escaping the suffocating hug which Naruto thought she deserved. He slung his arms around her neck, the thick muscle of his biceps almost strangling her. Why he should think that they were friendly enough to be hugging so intimately made her weirdly suspicious...

Sasuke didn't seem too pleased either as he slowly followed his friend. He watched with bitter resentment as Naruto hugged Sakura. Of course, Naruto didn't mean anything of it; he always unknowingly got attached way too easily to people.

Naruto finally let go of her, flashing a toothy grin at her as he did so.

Sakura suddenly remembered a little trick which her friend had once taught her which seemed to work wonders on her parents whenever they were annoying her. Instead of furiously lashing out on them and starting a scene, she would simply take a long breath in, close her eyes for a second and when she opened them again, she would have a polite smile on her face and act as if she were overly interested in everything they said. Although it wasn't exactly the same situation, Sakura had a feeling that it would manage to irk both of the friends off – or, at least, Sasuke, because Naruto would obviously be too dense to realise if anything was wrong...

And this is exactly what she did. She relaxed her fists which had been instinctively screwing themselves up, preparing to hit something or somebody. She took a long breath in, closed her eyes, and then instantly opened them. In an instant, she had transformed her tense, irritated expression into a radiantly fake smile, which didn't seem to quite reach her eyes. Nevertheless she chimed out in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Hi, guys!"

Sasuke knew something was off as soon as he saw her smiling face. For one, Sakura never seemed to smile around him, and secondly, only moments before when Naruto had hugged her, she had looked ready to gorge Naruto's eyes out, grab a tray full of the mini bruschetta appetizers and stuff one each into his empty eye sockets.

"Did you just get here?" she asked, feigning interest. Her gaze pointed mainly to Sasuke, as she couldn't keep the scorn out of her eyes. He knew something was up. He couldn't seem to keep the shivers from running down his spine as he was on the receiving end of Sakura's cold glares, made even more sinister by the fact she was still smiling.

"Yeah, but this brunch is _bore-ring_!" Naruto complained. "I want to get really drunk and forget I was ever here..." he whined childishly, but he still found his idea rather appealing as he downed the rest of his champagne.

Noticing that his glass was now empty, Sakura found the perfect opportunity for her escape. "Let me go get you a refill," she offered, taking the champagne flute out his hands and leaving no room for him to interject. Swiftly leaving the two guys behind, she made a beeline to the kitchen, forgetting all about getting Naruto another drink.

In the kitchen, the expert chefs were working, leaving her to be undisturbed as she got herself a glass of water. Her boss wouldn't like to know that she had been hiding from the party, but then again, it wasn't in the job description to handle two annoying males on top of her waitressing duties.

Finding herself alone, her fatigue suddenly caught up with her and she realised for the first time that day how tired she had been. It seemed like days ago when she was sitting with Sasuke, looking over the gorgeous Tokyo skyline, but in reality, it had only been a few hours ago. She leaned on the kitchen counter, tempted to just rest her eyes and fall asleep whilst standing up, until she was jolted back to reality, as a hand lightly tapped her shoulder.

She cracked an eye open, only to come face-to-face with one of the chefs. His eyes were a similar shade of green to her own, but his seemed much paler, which was accentuated by his heavy guy-liner. A tattoo was scantily hidden beneath scruffy red hair, and a white chef's hat sat on the crown of his head.

"You're not supposed to be in the kitchen," he bluntly informed.

"Ah, s-sorry," she apologized, caught off-guard at the sudden interruption. "I was just taking a quick break." She didn't exactly know why she felt the need to explain herself to him, when he didn't look all that much older than her, but something about his cold demeanour just screamed that he was in high authority.

"Some of the guests want more champagne," he replied, flicking his gaze over to an empty tray near boxes of Moët, implying that she should be doing her job instead of standing around in the kitchen.

Before she could stop herself, she rolled her eyes, and replied in a passive voice "Yeah, yeah." It was always this devil-may-care attitude which got her fired because she had let her true feelings be shown in the past. However, she could really care less, and she knew for a fact that this red-headed dude, who thought it would be alright to boss her around, wasn't her employer and he definitely wasn't the head chef, who was famous all around Tokyo for catering for wealthy people. She walked off, grabbing the tray and loading a couple of flutes of champagne onto it, before exiting the kitchen without even taking a glance behind her.

However, this red-head simply smirked to himself as she left the kitchen. Despite standing up to him and showing him the boldness of her fierce personality, she still complied with his order; otherwise she would have left the kitchen _without _the champagne...

.&.

"Sakura! Where did you go?" Naruto called to her as he spotted her coming out of the kitchen. "I waited ages for that champagne!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, grabbing a flute off the tray which she was balancing in one hand. "Well, here you go, Naruto," she said coldly, thrusting the glass into his hand before walking off in the opposite direction. That encounter with that red-headed chef had just dampened her day even more, and even _trying_ to act nice to Naruto and Sasuke seemed like too much effort.

Naruto and Sasuke both shared a look; one which said '_Whoa, what's with her?_' Nevertheless, Sasuke ran after her, dodging through the crowd. When he finally reached her, he gently pulled on her arm, strong enough to tell her to stop and turn around to face him, but weak enough not to spill the tray in her hands.

"What do you want?" she hissed out at him, holding the tray above their heads. The crowd around them seemed to be suffocating them in, so that they couldn't help but to be only a few inches apart.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"You really want to know how I'm feeling?" she asked, with a daring look to her eyes. Obviously, she didn't feel '_okay_'; her day just kept getting worse and worse and she really doubted that anyone would want to listen to her rant for hours on end about how crappy her life was looking. Nonetheless, he nodded his head slightly, looking her square in the eye.

"Why don't you tell me all about it after your shift?" he offered, hinting at something which should have made Sakura slightly sceptical. However, when one wanted to rant and yell their true feelings to somebody, it was better when that somebody was willing to listen and not just caught between a rock and a hard place.

She took a deep breath, not sure if she was doing the right thing or not, but she nodded her head at him, consenting to meeting him after her shift ended in an hour.

His face lit up, or at least his eyes did. Half of him was victorious over the fact that this would be the perfect opportunity to get Sakura to fall for him, but the other half of him actually felt compelled to just know the real Sakura – the one with all the problems and the human emotions.

"That would be nice," she replied. "I'll meet you by the escalator in-!"

Sakura didn't get to finish her sentence as she was shoved by the crowd behind her, so that she was sent tumbling forward – right into Sasuke's arms. The tray in her steady hands was knocked to the floor, as shards of glass scattered everywhere. But Sakura couldn't seem to register anything except for the strong hands which had caught her by the waist. The chest which she had fallen into flexed beneath her pleasingly and the smell of Sasuke's pristine white shirt was musky and clean, mixed with a faint smell of nicotine, pine cones and Bleu de Chanel. For a moment, all she could do was stay still and take advantage of the rather compromising situation that she was in. But when she felt a stinging sensation by her ankle, she let go of Sasuke, pushing him back a bit to inspect her leg. It turned out that a small shard of glass had scratched the skin at her leg, and had created a small trickle of blood down her lower calf.

There were a few squeals from the women in the vicinity, but the older males were trying to control the situation, thankfully, making people step back from the accident. A few waiters came along to clean up the mess.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Sasuke asked, a droplet of concern in his voice. "Your leg – it's bleeding."

"No shit," she commented back dryly. She tried to swipe at the blood with a finger but she grazed over the cut which made her flinch with pain.

"Come on, we'll get you cleaned up," he said, leading her by the arm to the kitchen, where she hobbled along after at a slow pace.

As soon as they were out of the party and into the nice seclusion in the kitchen, Sasuke immediately went in search of a first-aid kit. He had lifted her onto the counter, as she sat there patiently, waiting for Sasuke to return.

"Back again?" she heard a voice to the right of her ask. She flicked her eyes at the newcomer and slightly swore beneath her breath. It was the same red-head as earlier.

"I'm not in the mood to be bossed around by an arrogant little prick like you again," she said, glaring at him with as much hate as she could muster.

He smirked at her confident reply, but decided to change the topic completely. He flicked his eyes over to Sasuke who was searching through cupboards at the other end of the spacious kitchen, too busy to notice them talking. "Is that your boyfriend?"

Her eyebrows shot up at the question. "Sasuke? No!" she replied, but the chef could tell that she was embarrassed at how she had answered a little too quickly. She blushed a little, before going on the defensive, stating "Why do you even care?"

He smirked at her before replying "Well, I hate seeing vulnerable girls like you being taken advantage of from guys like him," he gestured subtly towards Sasuke.

She scoffed and replied, "I can take care of myself, thanks."

Her cold tone was supposed to send him on his way, but he stayed for a little while longer, just to add, "Well anyways, you should be careful. I can tell he's up to something."

As mysterious as his statement was, Sakura couldn't begin to explore it further as the chef turned his back to her and walked away out of the kitchen, just as Sasuke came back over with a first-aid kit in his hands.

"Hey, what was that chef doing talking to you?" he asked, an infuriatingly arrogant smirk plastered onto his face as he regarded the back of the red-headed chef with superiority.

Sakura noticed this and looked back at Sasuke with a blank look. "He was just telling us to be quick in here. We really shouldn't be in the kitchen." The little white lie had slipped through her lips almost on instinct.

However, Sasuke didn't seem to realise and scoffed a little. "Yeah, whataver." He opened the first-aid kit, continuing to clean up the small gash on Sakura's leg. The whole time, he couldn't stop thinking about the bet. And then he remembered how he was in the middle of arranging meeting Sakura after her shift before she dropped her tray.

"Anyways where were we before – I believe you were about to give a time to meet me at the escalator after you finish up here," he hinted, looking up at her through his eyelashes.

Sakura hoped he wouldn't bring that up again; after the conversation with the chef, she was suspicious of Sasuke's intentions. She knew that she shouldn't listen to everything that the chef told her, but a part of her couldn't deny that the red-head, whom she didn't know the name of, had a point.

"Yeah, about that..." Sakura started lamely, racking her brains for an excuse to get out of it. "Can we take a rain check? I forgot that I have this exam tomorrow which I have to study for."

He knew something was up, but trying to win her heart meant not pressuring her to do anything, despite the short few months which he had left. "Yeah sure. Just ring me some time if you need to chat," he offered with a smile that he had flawlessly practised in his mirror. It had a 99.3% chance of making a woman's heart beat a little faster, although he should have known that Sakura wouldn't have been affected in the slightest.

"Thanks," she said, grateful for both the offer and helping her with her graze, as she hopped off the counter. "I should get back to my job," she added, excusing herself from the kitchen, leaving Sasuke confused as to the changing demeanours of Sakura.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, I realise that it was cheeky of me to not update in so so soo long, but I was drowned in so much coursework and mock exams! I'm sorry if any of you have lost interest!<em>

_I'll try and update more frequently but A Levels seriously take it all out of me. Still, please review and keep me motivated!_

_But if any of you have a tumblr account, follow my shenanigans. It's pretty new and I don't have many followers, but I like to follow back so... - it's **myparisiandream** followed by the usual address after it. _


	5. Please Please Please

_The Social Scene_

_Chapter 5_

_See, the life I've had _  
><em>Can make a good man bad <em>  
><em>So for once in my life <em>  
><em>Let me get what I want <em>

_ - The Smiths_

* * *

><p>Great. How the hell did Sakura end up late so many times in the week? However, this time, instead of being late for a job, she was late for one of her lectures at the university.<p>

Still in her run-down, typically lower-class Jap apartment, she shoved text books by the dozen into her over-sized tote bag, throwing in her purse and her mobile as well. Her abode wasn't exactly the most glamorous of places, as most of her money went towards her tuition fees, but she made it her own little Mecca, by pulling up the moulding carpet from the last owner to reveal hard-wood floor, and sprinkling Mexican and Persian throw rugs here and there. There were black and white posters of the Beatles and an air of Parisian _blasé _about the whole affair. It was a clash of different cultures and she collected little knick-knacks from flea markets or dainty boutiques which sold heart-warming, vintage-esque pieces in the shape of empty perfume bottles, or framed photographs of Twiggy. She was obsessed with this archaic little apartment of hers.

"Crap," she spoke aloud to herself, rummaging through a pile of abandoned clothes on her floor. "Where the fuck is my iPod?" She sucked in her breath in aggravation. She just couldn't leave the house without it – it was an unhealthy obsession of hers. Saying that, she finally managed to rescue it from the insides of an empty vase in a Victorian style – how it managed to get there was a complete mystery to her.

But nevertheless, she could finally leave her apartment. As she was out of the door, running through the apartment complex, she plugged in her iPod and turned on a good tune in the hopes of putting her in a better mood. However, she was so absorbed in her music, that she didn't even notice a certain Uchiha coincidentally fall in step with her as she rounded a street corner.

She felt someone shadowing her, so close that she could smell the Lagerfeld and the Versace. She knew exactly who it was.

"So now you've resorted to following me?" she said, the aggravation clear in her tone, as she whipped quickly around to face him.

"We're heading in the same direction," he replied nonchalantly, walking around her to carry on forward.

She gave a suspicious look aimed at his back, but didn't contemplate further on it, as she was already late as it was. Instead, she decided to walk next to him, keeping up with his long strides.

"So, where are you heading?" she asked, trying to extract any information from him.

Vaguely, he replied, "Just, you know, near the university."

"Right," she went along with his painstakingly obvious rouse with scepticism. She was still a firm believer that no good could ever come from an Uchiha. Thus, she had a distinct feeling that he was now stalking her, and that he had some sort of motive for doing so.

They turned onto a particularly busy street with plenty of pedestrians, pollution and impatient drivers. They were steadily walking closer and closer to their destination, and Sakura was starting to get itchy with Sasuke's ominous presence as she tried to make her legs move faster.

"You have a lecture, right?" he asked with an all-knowing tone.

"Yes," she spat out, eyeing him from the corner of her eyes dubiously. "And I'm really late for it. Sorry to cut our conversation short, Uchiha, but I need to hurry." They were just across the street from the university building now and Sakura was about to cross the road, when she felt a tug at her wrist.

"Wait, Sakura," he said.

"No, Sasuke, I'm really late and I _need_ to go," she pleaded, trying to tug her wrist out of his firm grasp with no avail.

"I won't let you go until you promise me a date."

So _this _was his motive? His words made her stop trying to escape his grip and fully face him, wide-eyed with a mix of incredulity and suspicion. The words of the red-headed chef still resonated in her mind, telling her to be careful with Sasuke. Speaking of the red-headed chef, who had popped up in a numerous amount of Sakura's fleeting thoughts, she still didn't know his name - so, she had decidedly started calling him HAGWAP (Hot Arrogant Guy With A Point).

But something stopped her from saying no to Sasuke's offer. "If I agree, will you just let go of me and let me go to my lecture, which I'm already..." she glanced at her wristwatch before gasping with horror. "Shit, I'm later than I thought! Now I really need to go, Sasuke!" She tried tugging at her arm again, but he only held on tighter.

"Dinner at the new restaurant that opened up near the Shibuya crossing at 7 - that's all I'm asking," he offered with a smirk, knowing he was so close to tasting victory.

"Oh my god, you are _so_ infuriating!" she whined, throwing her head back for emphasis. She saw the look in his eyes which meant that he wasn't kidding when he said he'd only let her go if she agreed on the date. "Fine!" she gave up, obviously unwillingly.

He smiled at her and winked, as he slowly let go of the firm hold on her wrist. She yanked her arm back, running across the road, looking back over her shoulder one last time, before she wretched the door to the university building open, shouting behind her, "But you're paying!"

.&.

3 and a half hours straight of university lectures and 34 minutes of that time being yelled at by her old, senile lecturer at her tardiness was hardly worth the date which Sakura had promised Sasuke just to get there in the first place. Walking out of the lecture hall, pulling her tote strap higher onto her shoulder, she almost immediately noticed a flash of crimson burning in her peripheral vision. Could it be who she thought it was?

Although he had his back to her, staring at a pin board with some menial notices tacked up, she had a sneaking suspicion that it was the mysterious HAGWAP chef from the brunch a few days ago. She cautiously stepped closer, trying to crane her neck to see if it was his familiar face. However, suddenly, his baritone voice rung around the empty hallway.

"I had a feeling I'd see you again." He hadn't even turned around and the question ran through Sakura's confused mind – how the hell did he know it was her?

As enigmatic as ever, Sakura couldn't help but to grit her teeth as she tried hard not to yell out in frustration.

"... Because you followed me to my lecture?" she asked jokingly, trying subtly to gorge any information as to why he was here from him.

Much to Sakura's relief, he turned around, and his face was revealed to be certainly HAGWAP. It infuriated her that she still didn't know his name, yet she had thought about him continuously over the last few nights, trying so hard to figure out the riddle in his words. Whenever she saw Sasuke around, whether it be passing in the street like earlier that day, or whether he popped up onto her phone screen with a new text, she would always think of the red-head and his wise words to look out for Sasuke.

He shook his head at her earlier question with a small smile playing on the curves on his lips. He had slight dimples, Sakura noticed with amusement.

"I'm here to propose a new project to one of the lecturers. He was my old '_Sensei_', if you'd like. I had no idea you study in this building."

"Project?" Sakura repeated curiously, raising an eyebrow.

He smirked and held out a large, A2 folder in his hands. "A photography project. I want a chance to exhibit my work and have it acknowledged from all the professionals... you know, maybe make a permanent living out of it. But to do this, I need to get Sensei's approval."

"Photography?" she asked, her puzzlement becoming far more severe. "But I thought you were a chef?"

"Only part-time. I mean, who would be able to live off a career in photography? The only other thing I deem myself to be good at is cooking, but what's the use of making a full-time thing out of it when you don't even enjoy it?" he asked philosophically, tipping his head to the side with a serious glint in his eye, silently asking her to just _try_ and contradict his point.

She shrugged ambiguously, before gesturing towards his folder. "Can I take a peek?" she asked modestly with a cheeky smile.

"Yeah... sure," he agreed uncertainly, carefully propping his folder on a table nearby and zipping it open. It wasn't that he was reluctant to share his work... it was just that he was nervous of her opinions. He had gotten mixed reviews about his work, but he didn't let it bother him. But when faced with the possibility that this girl, whom he had only met once before, was judging his work, something just made him extremely intimidated and scared of her critique. Nevertheless, he pulled out a large portfolio and handed it to her. "Some of the work is just experimental..." he added modestly.

She flicked through the book and found that she was turned speechless. His work was absolutely beautiful. Although she didn't know much about photography, she could tell this could get him far.

"The compilation tells a story," he informed, but Sakura didn't ask what exact story it was supposed to tell. She could feel it in his voice that it was one surrounded by mystery, changing its narrative depending on the individual.

"Wow, this is absolutely gorgeous," she breathily replied, still stunned to see it all. And there seemed to be an absolutely beautiful model in most of the photos, representing all these deep, symbolic ideas. "Christ, she's beautiful," she commented, pointing to his model in a particular breath-taking photo, where she stood atop a tree branch looking down at the camera lens.

"Well, yeah..." he vaguely replied. "But she's a handful. She walked out on me this morning, refusing to pose for my camera anymore."

"You're kidding!" she replied incredulously.

"Nope. I need to find a new muse soon or else my photography project will be on hiatus..."

She flicked her eyes away from the portfolio momentarily in order to look into his eyes. "Good luck with that," she said genuinely, shutting the book after. "Anyways, it's getting pretty late, I should probably get going."

At the right time, one of the doors to a room opened, and out popped the head of a young lecturer. "Gaara, you can come in now," he said, before shutting the door again.

They smiled at each other at the more-or-less perfect timing.

"So you're name's Gaara?" she asked, with a triumphant smile, finally finding out the name of HAGWAP. He simply nodded his head, before she added, "The introduction is a bit late, but I'm Sakura."

He masked his smile as he found the rather fitting name quite amusing and cute.

"You know what, Sakura," he asked with a scarily out-of-character grin on his face. She cocked her head a bit to the right, sceptical of what he would say. "I've just come up with this crazy idea... Come and model for me."

Sakura was shocked into silence. Never in a million years had Sakura ever thought she was 'model material'. "Are you kidding?" she finally exclaimed, a horrified look on her face.

"I'm totally serious," he said.

"But I just... _don't_ model! I _can't_ model!"

"What are you talking about? Anybody can model," he tried to reason, failing unsuccessfully when Sakura simply shook her head.

"Anybody but me!"

He sighed, but was persistent enough not to give up. "Look, here's my number," he said, grabbing a pen from the inside of his jacket. When he tried patting himself down for a piece of paper, he simply grabbed her hand spontaneously and writ the digits of his mobile number onto her palm. "Please call me, at least just to meet up so I can take some test shots. It doesn't have to mean you'll model for me, just let me see how you photograph," he asked, sincerity clear in his voice.

Sakura bit her lip. She thought about how un-photogenic she was, but then if she rejected him, his project wouldn't be able to carry on. And he seemed like such an _escape_ from... well, from reality. Her job, Sasuke, university... Gaara seemed to be the cure for all of that, even though they had started off on the wrong foot.

Finally, as Gaara waited patiently for an answer, she simply sighed in defeat and nodded her head slowly, unknowing of what she was getting herself into. "Fine..." she said, albeit hesitantly.

He let out a great sigh of relief, before thanking her with a victorious smirk on his face and entering the room, leaving her in the hallway, contemplating just what this photography hubbub could get her into. Her biggest concern, although she didn't know why, was Sasuke. So maybe she should just keep quiet about this deal around the Uchiha for now...

* * *

><p><em>Aha! You guessed right! HAGWAP, aka. Hot Arrogant Guy With A Point, is Gaara! And the acronym is also a spin-off from HIG (Hot Intelligent Guy), for those of you who read Elle...<em>

_Also, how many times have I used an ellipsis at the end of my chapters? Should really find more effective and less (failing) suspenseful endings to use._

_And did anyone spot the Generation X reference at the beginning? I was reading it at the time of writing, and I fell in love with the descriptions of Claire's apartment. Thus, the slightly plagiarized (admittedly!) words used. I'm not proud :/_

_Also, although you probably aren't interested in this, I changed the summary of this story, by adding that it's, not only, a SakuxSasu fic, but also a bit 'SakuxGaara-ish' as well. I should probably add that it's slightly SakuxNaruto too, but we all know who she ends up with in the end!_


	6. Smells Like Teen Spirit

_The Social Scene_

_Chapter 6_

_Load up on guns and bring your friends_  
><em>It's fun to lose and to pretend<em>  
><em>She's over bored and self assured<em>

_ - Nirvana_

* * *

><p>The date. With the Uchiha. In thirty minutes.<p>

So Sakura wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but she was strangely nervous. And she had no idea what to wear. She had heard that the restaurant they were going to was extremely formal and pricey, but she didn't want to dress up too much so that it looked like she had made the effort... In front of anyone else it would have been acceptable, but not in front of the Uchiha. He wouldn't be given the pleasure to know she had worried herself over a date (which should have meant _nothing_ to her!)

Her make-up was exactly the same as it was earlier on in the day, albeit for an extra layer of lip gloss. No false eye-lashes, no lipstick, no unnecessary glam. She wasn't trying to impress the Uchiha, so why _try_?

When she had just gotten her choice of attire down to two dresses, a knock came from her front door fifteen minutes before she was expecting Sasuke.

She ran to get the door, opening it just a crack in case Sasuke was just extremely early, but instead, it was a man, whom she had never seen before, dressed in a smart suit with a large box in his hands.

"Er, hi?" she said sceptically.

"Sorry to intrude, ma'am, but Sir asked me to deliver this to you," the man said, holding out the box for her to take. She did so, although with much caution.

"'_Sir_'?" she asked him, wondering who he had been addressing. He obviously worked for someone powerful... and rich. She could only guess at one person, as she sighed and added, "The Uchiha, right?"

The servant nodded his head before swiftly turning around to leave. She sighed yet again as she slammed her door shut with her foot, juggling the large, relatively heavy box in her arms.

She carefully placed it onto her sofa, as she knelt down to lift up the lid. The true contents were wrapped within layers of tissue paper, but on top of them lay a pristine card with a swirled border. In the centre, it read:

_Sakura,_

_I hope this small gift is to your liking_

_Sasuke_

_X_

She almost spluttered when she uncovered the tissue paper to reveal gorgeous material folded over each other to fit into the box. She lifted it out and gasped with a mix of shock and stun. It was a beautiful Grecian-esque dress, pale pink in colour and a light material, resembling silken threads. A strip of material draped over the shoulder to hold the dress up and wove around the upper body, cinching in slightly at the waist. The skirt rippled to the ground, lightly dragging on the floor. Sakura fingered the label on the back of the dress and could have died with excitement. Rodarte. Wow.

As much as she loved the dress, she just couldn't accept it. It must have cost a fortune, even for a rich socialite, but that wasn't the point. If Sakura accepted this dress, she was literally falling right into the intricate trap that Sasuke had intended her to fall into. It would be submitting to his follies, to his charm, to his unquenchable arrogance. But... But she couldn't just _refuse_ this generous gift. She took another glance at the dress, swooning with a longing to feel the material over her skin.

An internal debate battled through her mind, a little devil on one shoulder telling her to accept and to deal with the consequences later. But the angel on the other shoulder told her that she should just refuse to wear it and give it back to him.

An epiphany suddenly hit her as she thought of a way to satisfy both sides of her conscience. She would wear the dress, but only to her date tonight and then return it to him – like a hire. If she kept it, she'd always have that constant reminder when she opened her closet door in the mornings that she had succumbed to Sasuke's courtship. But this way, Sasuke would get the clear message to back away after this date, because, of course, this date should mean _nothing_.

.&.

"Well... thanks for a lovely evening," Sakura said as she almost reached her front door after her dinner with Sasuke. "And thanks for walking me home – which you really shouldn't have gone to the trouble of!"

"It's my pleasure, Sakura," he replied with a charming smile on his face. She couldn't help but to gawk at his smile for a little while longer. For the first time since she met him, Sasuke seemed to have a lot more genuine smiles on his face this evening. She suddenly blushed when she realised she was staring, and diverted her gaze to the concrete ground quickly.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked her, inspecting her closely for her reaction.

She nodded her head genuinely, and she wasn't even lying just to be polite. She really had enjoyed herself. She laughed a lot, drank a bit too much wine and she even ordered a dessert which she barely touched, just to drag out the evening a little but more. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, slightly from the embarrassing admittance to his question. However, unsuspectingly, he inched closer to her and she felt like a silly little school girl again with a crush on a boy four years older than her. But she suddenly came to her senses and put a light hand on his chest to stop him in his steps, a safe two inches away from her own body. "But next time," she advised, "be a bit more... _you_."

Ignoring the second half of her sentence, he parroted with a small triumphant smirk, "Next time?"

She chuckled at this and replied, "Nice try. But seriously, when you next take a girl out on a date, it may surprise you to know that some aren't looking for your riches, wealth or influence. They just want a good time with the _real _Sasuke Uchiha – take her somewhere which _isn't_ a posh restaurant, you know?" She reached into her bag and pulled out her keys, fumbling for the right ones to unlock her door.

He thought about this for a moment, creasing his brow in profound contemplation. "Hm," he murmured. "I'll try it." And then his eyes lit up as he looked directly at her. "Perhaps on Tuesday?"

She could sense the signs of a subtle hint at another date underneath his words, which made her shake her head at his insatiable cheekiness. She ignored his request and simply put the key in the door lock, before opening it. She was about to walk through the threshold, when Sasuke held her back.

"Oh, and by the way, Sakura..." he started, as she stopped and turned around slightly to face him. "You look gorgeous in that dress," he complimented as he leaned in to gently kiss her on the cheek. It took her by surprise and all she could do was stand there, frozen in time, feeling his soft lips just graze over her skin ever so softly, as his hand ran tiny circles over her bare arm.

But all of a sudden, it all stopped, as he stepped away, giving her more space to breathe and function normally again. Her arm and her cheek burned with the lingering touches of Sasuke. And in that moment, she just couldn't bring herself to say that she wanted to refuse the stunning dress instead of keeping it. Her mind worked traitorously to keep her mouth shut.

Instead, she squeezed out a quiet "Goodnight" at him, to which he reciprocated, before he turned around to walk stoically off.

Although Sasuke was out of her general vicinity, Sakura still couldn't bring it in herself to start breathing regularly again. That small little kiss on her cheek had really taken her by surprise. Sakura knew Sasuke to be all these negative things – which was why she was so against his very existence. But when he had ever-so-lightly kissed her, it was like being transported through an imaginarium which projects all your wildest dreams and fantasies into real life. It felt a lot like hope.

She quickly hurried through her door and slammed it shut just as quickly. As she slid down the wood onto the floor, cupping her face into her hands, she thought horrifically that Sasuke had just become a lot more... _confusing_.

.&.

"Fuck!" Sakura quietly muttered to herself. "What am I going to do with this dress?"

It was the morning after Sasuke and Sakura's dinner date and, as Sakura was getting ready for a new day, she had noticed the pale pink dress lazily slung over a chair. She fingered the material, internally debating whether to give it back to Sasuke or to keep it, like he had wanted her to. At the start of the night, she had been happy to give it back, but that was before she tried it on, before Sasuke had complimented her a million times and eyes couldn't stop drifting over her form as she walked through the restaurant. It had gotten to her head a bit, but in her defence, she had never considered herself as pretty or stunning, like so many of those girls that you see in Vogue or Vanity Fair. Plus, when the evening had ended and they were both standing outside of her apartment, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him that she would return the dress to him as soon as possible. Being filthy rich, Sasuke probably had five million replicas of this exact dress at his disposable to give to any girl he went on a date with anyways.

She sighed as she eventually calmed herself and sat down in front of her vanity table and started to do up her hair. She was gazing into the mirror, half zoned out, half focusing on the smooth strokes of pulling her brush through her hair. Suddenly, she spotted something in the reflection and stopped the brushing. Holding out one of her hands in front of her face, she noticed the digits writ messily on her palm.

She had completely forgotten about Gaara! Even through the dinner date with Sasuke, she hadn't noticed the number on her hand or thought about his wise words of caution. Quickly, she grabbed her mobile and dialled in his number.

As she heard the clear ringing tone in her ear, she finally realised that she had no idea what she was going to say.

Finally, the ringing stopped and a clear, baritone voice sprang through the other end. "_Hello?_"

She wasn't sure why she was even ringing. She had barely even contemplated upon the thought of becoming Gaara's muse, but the idea wasn't exactly appealing to her.

"Hi," she lamely introduced, in a timid voce very unlike her usual character.

"_Sakura? Is that you?_"

"How did you know?" she squeaked out in surprise that one syllable which was drawn from her lips managed to give her away.

"_Well, I was expecting your call sooner or later_," he replied quite calmly, unfazed by her unusually nervous, jittery voice. "_Have you thought about my suggestion_?"

"Yeah, about that..." she stuttered, winding her telephone cord around her forefinger. However, before she could finish, she could hear an exasperated sigh on the other end. She imagined Gaara to be running a hand through that crimson hair of his.

"_Sakura... are you free right now?_" he asked, with an inkling of hope laced into his tone.

"...Why?" she asked sceptically, assuming it had something to do with taking test shots or some other horrific way to capture her face onto the lens.

"_Is that a yes or a no?_" he asked, ignoring her question completely.

Sakura couldn't think of anything to do, no excuses to get her out of something she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to go through with, but she replied that she was free nonetheless, although her tone couldn't help but to give away some of her reluctance.

"_Good,_" he simply replied, telling her to meet at an address in Tokyo which she didn't recognise, before he hung up.

She laid her phone gently on her table, sighing exasperatedly at her reflection. She didn't think that her life could get any more complicated, considering that, just a few weeks ago, her life had been pretty much as boring and normal as a student's life could get. Now she had Sasuke constantly bugging her, Naruto not far behind him and Gaara asking her to be his artistic muse...

Finally, she got ready to meet Gaara, lazily tying her hair up into a top-knot and pulling on a pair of light-wash denim shorts, a Wildfox sweatshirt, and a pair of Docs. It wasn't the most glamorous of outfits in her wardrobe, nor was it the most interesting, but for Sakura, comfort and practicality were more important than looking good – of course, she only followed this unspoken rule to a certain extent.

She made her way to the address which Gaara had given, which lead her to downtown Tokyo. The streets were just as busy as the streets at Shibuya crossing, but there was an air around here which was a little bit refreshing and a little bit familiar at the same time. It had a comforting, homely feel to the dainty coffeehouses and the cute boutiques lining the streets.

Sakura marvelled at the sights, openly gasping at the little antics happening around her. Although she had lived in Tokyo all of her life, she had never been to this certain area before. It was foreign to her, in the sense that what she saw around her seemed so alien and so lost to her since living in a polluted city, surrounded by superficial snobs living in their high society.

She finally made her way to a block of loft apartments, where she followed a staircase up to the designated floor. She gently knocked on a door with a number scratched into the wood matching to that on her piece of paper, really hoping that this was the correct address. When a voice called from within, she instantly knew it was Gaara.

"Come in!" he shouted through the door, his voice sounding distant and muffled.

She hesitantly laid her hand on the door knob, scared to twist it open and reveal what was inside. But nonetheless, she sucked in her breath, closed her eyes and counted to three to calm her growing nerves. When she opened her eyes again, she felt much more relaxed, more confident even. She opened the door and took her first small step into the threshold of Gaara's apartment.

The first thing which she noticed as her eyes scanned around the loft was the immense amount of light filtering in through the large windows on one side of the apartment. There were two doors leading to what she expected to be the primary bedroom and a bathroom. The kitchen, living area and dining area were all one room, separated by minimalist book shelves filled with authentic vinyl's and books about art and photography.

"Wow," was all she could say as she flicked her eyes here and there. She finally landed upon Gaara, in a more or less vacant part of the room where the light hit the walls the best. There were no books or clutter in the part of the room, just a sterilised white backdrop, a few softbox lights dotted around and some other large lighting equipment. And then, right there, in her direct line of vision, lay the _thing_ that she absolutely loathed – a camera. It was a Canon digital SLR sitting on a tripod and Gaara was leaning over it, looking into the small eyehole adjusting the settings. She slowly made her way over to him, making sure not to distract him from his concentrated work. However, he soon looked up anyways and gave her a small grin in greeting. He was pleased that she came, albeit a little surprised that she didn't run away; she could clearly tell with the way his eyes lit up ever so subtly. Hell, even she was a little surprised she didn't run away.

Nevertheless, he walked over to her, wearing a pair of skinny jeans in a faded black hue and a loose, dark grey t-shirt with its sleeves ripped off and a scratched band logo stamped on the front. All-in-all, with his crimson hair and a cigarette lazily hanging out of his mouth, he looked like the reincarnation of Sid Vicious and something out of Trainspotting. It was a look that she normally wouldn't go for in a guy, but she had to give it to him – he looked hot.

He gave another small smirk aimed at her, as he swiftly instructed her to put her bag down somewhere and stand on a spot marked with a small 'x' on the white backdrop. She did as she was told, wriggling uncomfortably in her skin, suddenly feeling extremely hot as he took the camera off the tripod and aimed the lens at her face. She couldn't help but to look away, embarrassed at the attention and scuffing her feet on the ground.

"Sakura, relax," he soothed. "I just want to take a few harmless shots." She felt flashes of white hit her skin as he pressed the shutter button a few times.

She shuffled around a little more, her eyes fixedly finding the ground a very interesting subject, before replying, "I'm so sorry, Gaara, but I just can't do this. I'm not a model and I'm really, really un-photogenic!" She didn't want to look at him because she knew that she had disappointed him.

Ignoring her, he sighed out "This setting isn't working."

She blinked at him, knowing that he was totally lying! It wasn't the setting that wasn't working – it was her!

All of a sudden, she felt herself being pulled away by a firm grip on her wrist. Gaara was intently dragging her away from his 'photography corner', away from the backdrop and the intimidating lighting equipment to his main living area. He had a few comfy leather sofas, a large armchair, a television set and a coffee table – the conventional necessities of a living room.

He plopped her down in the large, deep brown leather armchair and then put out his cigarette in the ash tray on the coffee table. He continued to flick through his shelf of records as she watched him do all this with a scrutinising eye, wondering what he was up to. Finally, he found the record he was looking for and headed for the record player. He stuck the vinyl on the top and placed the needle on expertly. She wondered what songs were going to come out of the speakers, but her eyebrows shot up in pleased surprise as the first notes boomed out on maximum volume. She grinned as she recognised the song instantly – Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit.

She sang the lyrics in a hushed, gentle voice as she lightly tapped her boot-clad feet to the beat, fiddling with her hair as she did so. One of her legs was slung underneath her, as she leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes and relaxed for the first time since stepping into Gaara's apartment.

"Sakura, open your eyes," Gaara commanded.

Unsuspectingly, Sakura did exactly that, but she was suddenly blinded by the flash of his camera. And while she was caught in the moment, he pressed the shutter button a few more times as well. Her serene, lightly smiling face suddenly transformed into mixed incredulousness and anger.

"Gaara!" she squealed over the music. She lunged at him, pushing off the armrests with the intent to do some damage to that grinning, charming face of his. However, as he quickly evaded and ran off around his apartment, Sakura quickly ran after him. Much to her irritation, his upper body twisted slightly with his camera pointing behind him as he took some more photos of her whilst she was chasing him. This only fuelled her anger as she tried to lunge at him again. He dodged her smoothly by jumping onto one of his couches and flew over the top of it. Without thinking, she did exactly the same, and flew over the back of the sofa. However, she didn't realise until it was too late that Gaara was calmly waiting for her, lying on his back on the cold wooden, floors. She didn't see the camera right in her face as she came toppling down on top of him. A last, planned click of the shutter was heard before Sakura's body collided with Gaara's, knocking the wind from him.

"Ouch," she said with a defeated huff. She breathed heavily into Gaara's shirt, trying to catch her breath again. However, when she heard Gaara's groan of pain underneath her, she snapped back into reality, finally noticing their compromising position. Sakura was lying on top of Gaara with her hands resting on his chest and his legs wrapped around hers.

She suddenly felt all the heat travel to her cheeks as she blushed a bright red, completely forgetting why she had been so angry in the first place. Her eyes caught direct contact with Gaara's and she saw his face light up in a wicked, suggestive grin, which only made her blush more.

Silently, she pushed herself off him and stood up, trying to push the thoughts of his lingering smell out of her mind. She brushed off the imaginary bits of dust off her clothes, as he too got up from the floor.

An awkward silence enveloped the room, and only the small movements of Gaara could be heard as he flicked through the photos on his camera. She risked a small glance at him, and he suddenly turned towards her with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Sakura, you've passed the test. You're now my new artistic muse."

"...WHAT?"

* * *

><p><em>Okay, I don't really know what you guys think, but I would personally say this is a prettyyyy long chapter, probably one of the longest I've written. I really packed a lot of events in this chappie and so I felt obliged to end it on a good note... Hope it wasn't a bit too long-winded. Look forward to the next chapter where you'll get to see Gaara's shot of Sakura! Woopp.<em>

_Also, I'm really starting to freak out about everything because literally, I've always wanted to be a journalist and study english lit at uni, but I'm suddenly realizing how it's not that easy; journalism is a really competitive career and I'm pretty much failing english at school compared to my other subjects. It's just really stressful especially now that it's like only four months till I go on study leave, which really isn't a long time if you think about it. People are starting to become more self-assured of what they want to do when they're older but I'm the complete opposite. The uncertainty is killing me . Sorry for the life story..._


	7. Drunk

_The Social Scene_

_Chapter 7_

_Can't rely on my heart to beat it,_  
><em>'Cause you take part of it every evening,<em>  
><em>Take words out of my mouth just from breathing<em>

_ - Ed Sheeran_

* * *

><p>"Sakura, you've passed the test. You're now my new artistic muse."<p>

"...WHAT?"

She couldn't help the uncharacteristic scream escape her, as she indignantly stared open-mouthed at Gaara. "What test? I thought I wasn't committing myself to anything! You did _not _tell me about a test! And how in the hell have I passed?"

Much to Sakura's annoyance, Gaara kept a firm smirk plastered to his face as he watched her freak out. "Well... it wasn't a test _per se_. But anyways, all that matters is that you passed. Congratulations."

Sakura glared at him so ominously that he swore he could feel her eyes burning a hole right though his head. However, he simply ignored her as he walked stoically over to his kitchen island and sat on the high stool. A MacBook was waiting for him on the table and he flipped it open, connecting his camera to the USB cable.

"Gaara!" she whined, coming up behind him. "I don't _want_ to be your muse! I'm _not_ a model! And I look _ugly_ in photos!" She knew she sounded like a spoilt brat but how else was she going to try and get the message through to Gaara?

"I beg to differ, Sakura," he said, spinning around in his stool to face her, before lifting the laptop off the desk and shoving the screen right in front of her face. At first, she didn't know what she was looking at, but soon the pixels evaporated into one another and the image became clear as day. It was_ her_.

His finger lazily tapped through them all, until it came to the last one - the one which Gaara had taken right before she had landed on top of him. The photo showed her in mid-flight from his perspective. Her eyes were lit up with a feral glow to them and her hair looked like it was hung from invisible wires, standing right on end. However, the rest of her face seemed scarily serene – her jaw was relaxed, yet her body language spoke otherwise. Her hand was reaching out towards the lens, tensed like a talon. If it had been anyone but her in that photo, she would have thought it was a beautifully captured moment.

Gaara lingered on this photo, raising an eyebrow at her. "What do you think now, Miss. Haruno?"

She finally tore her eyes away from the laptop as she looked up at him with a steely glare. "I think you cheated."

"What?"

"That's right. You cheated. You coaxed me into relaxation, putting on Nirvana - my weak spot. Then you provoked me and had me running around your whole apartment. And then finally, you purposely jumped over your couch, knowing that I would follow and be lured into your trap, just to take that photo! And I was completely unaware of your cunning antics!"

He chuckled before shaking his head in denial. "I didn't cheat. This photo right here," he said, pointing to his laptop screen, "This is 100% you."

She gave him a sceptical look, raising a neat eyebrow.

"Sakura, you know what I always like to say - anyone can model... as long as there's a photographer who likes them."

She gave him another hard look, internally weighing out the pros and cons...

Con: she hated cameras and the feeling of constantly being watched.

Pro: she would be majorly helping a friend out, if Gaara could be called a friend...

Con: if it all failed, she would be eternally humiliated.

Pro: she would get to see Gaara more, including his hot body which she could now confirm was six-pack endowed from their earlier run-in...

Whoa, wait. She did _not_ just think that. She always secretly knew that she had a dirty mind but to waste it on a guy like Gaara, whom she had the _worst _first impression of, made her cringe and blush in embarrassment.

She shook her head of all the other weird thoughts going through her mind at that moment and looked back at him, noting the subtle desperation and anticipation in his eyes for her to say yes – and so she found it increasingly difficult to decline him of his wish.

"Fine," she said, placing her hands on her hips. But before she even had time to note her conditions to this agreement, she felt herself being lifted off the ground and spun around in wild circles as she squealed with an excited kind of terror. "Gaara! Put me down!" she shouted in an uncharacteristic, high-pitched tone.

Finally, he put her down, grinning at her as he did so. With his hands still firmly on her waist, he pecked her on the cheek on a sudden impulse. "You're a babe," he said, as he smirked at her blush, which she found increasingly hard to control recently.

"But be honest with me," she said with a pout. "If I do something wrong, just tell me straight, okay?"

"Have more faith in yourself," he said simply, as he finally let go of her to get himself a glass of water from his kitchen sink.

She sighed, as she whimsically glanced at her wristwatch. She winced when she realised the time, noting that she had been at his apartment for longer than she had intended. "I should probably go now, Gaara."

He nodded at her and told her that he would ring her when he needed her for some more photos. Nodding, she grabbed her bag before heading out of his apartment.

.&.

There was a knocking at the door which Sakura was going to ignore, but found increasingly hard to when it turned into furious banging. She was tucked warmly under the duvet, five hundred miles deep in slumber and found it difficult to concentrate on her magnificent dreams of unicorns and floating lollipops, as the knocking became louder and more insistent.

Groaning, Sakura tossed to turn her back on the door, where the noise was filtering through. Burying her head in the cushion, she was still unsuccessful in drowning out the noise. When her patience was hanging on its last thread, she finally threw her duvet off her with a frustrated growl, glancing at the clock and moaning even more when she saw the digits flashing at her: 3:54am.

Wobbling as she got to her feet and stumbling towards her front door, she took a cautious look through the peephole, almost crying out in anger when she saw who stood on the opposite side of the door.

"Mother fucker," she spat out, as she opened the door with her unruly pink hair, donned only in a pair of immodest pyjama shorts and a tight tank top. Not bothering to cover herself up, she glared at the intruder with as much hate as she could muster at so early in the morning. "What the _fuck_ do you want?"

Sasuke Uchiha simply crossed his arms as he leant against her door frame with a wicked spark in his eyes and his clothes – a once sharp black suit – messed and wrinkled. His tie was loosened, his shirt only half tucked-in and his suit jacket slung lazily over his shoulder.

"Hey, Saku," he slurred, using a nickname which she had only heard her mother use on her.

She growled at him as he suddenly entered her apartment, not even waiting for an invitation before he stepped through her threshold. She watched in utter stun as he strutted in like he owned the place, the cheeky bastard!

As he walked past her, however, she caught a whiff of the odour permeating off his clothes and his breath. It smelt a lot like the strong, bitter taste of Absolut.

"Are... Are you drunk?" spluttered Sakura, grabbing onto his shoulder, spinning him around to face her.

When he struggled to find his footing, uncontrollably stumbling over his own feet, he pretty much answered her question. He simply chuckled and wriggled out of her grip, wondering over to her kitchen and raiding her fridge, much to her annoyance.

"Sasuke! Get the fuck out of my fridge and get the fuck out of my apartment!" she shouted in aggravation, stalking over to him to slam the fridge shut, away from his prying, hungry hands.

"Sakuraaa," he whined, almost uncharacteristically if there wasn't a small inkling of his arrogant smirk which followed it, "you're no fun."

She gritted her teeth, her patience hanging on by a fibre of a thread. "I don't have to be fun at _4 in the morning_, Sasuke," she all but spat out his name, as she recited the line with a forced politeness that could hopefully get the hate-filled message which lay underneath her words to him in his drunken state.

But it was to no avail as he practically ignored her. It was only then that he noticed her attire – or lack of. He drove his eyes over her form as she felt her jaw drop from his ability to be so _crude_. His eyes lit up as they roved her body, finally landing on her face. And with a lazy smirk, he raised his eyebrows up at her with a suggestive wink.

She suddenly felt extremely self-conscious, as she crossed her arms over her chest. Quickly spotting a thick-knitted, long cardigan slung over the back of her couch, she quickly put it on, buttoning it up.

Venomously, she glared at him, silently warning that if he dared to lay a hand on her, she would cut out his intestines and wrap them round his throat.

"Why are you here?" she continued to ask, dodging around him to get a glass of water from her tap. She leant against her kitchen island, curiously inspecting for a reaction from him whilst calmly sipping on her drink.

He simply leant against the counter opposite her, whilst nonchalantly fingering the hem of his shirt. He shrugged his shoulders in reply to her question. "I... don't really know. Got drunk with Naruto and before you know it, here I am."

She scoffed at his reply which she just wouldn't accept as an excuse. "You got drunk with Naruto? Alone? Just the two of you?" He must have been pretty desperate to do something on a Friday night if he stayed in with only one of his best friends to drown their sorrows.

He shrugged again, replying, "Yeah, just the two of us... and six strippers - but that's really not important," he said, calmly dismissing the last little fact like he was talking about the weather forecast.

Her eyes involuntarily widened before she shook her head in disbelief. "You're_ impossible_, Uchiha."

He ignored her as he began snooping through her cupboards looking for something that wasn't water, milk, juice, tea or coffee – essentially, he was looking for some booze.

"That still doesn't answer my question though – why are you here?"

"Why not?" he answered back vaguely, still sifting through her cupboards.

By now, Sakura had grown tired of his little smart remarks. Angrily, she shut the cupboard which he had just opened, and kept her arm above his head as she moved closer to threaten him into submission.

"Listen here, Uchiha," she gritted out, as Sasuke turned around to face her with a foreign startled expression on his face. "Let's get one thing clear here. You're currently in _my _apartment, in _my _kitchen, looking through _my_ cupboards at 4oclock in the fucking morning. At the moment, I'm too frustrated and sleep-deprived to even _try_ to kick you out. So instead, I at least expect a little back in return if you expect to steal my alcohol," she threatened as she grabbed behind him to a cupboard and gripped a bottle of cheap vodka by its neck, without even breaking eye-contact with the bewildered Uchiha. "Answer. My. Questions," she ground out, holding up the bottle of alcohol in front of his face, as if to tease him.

His eyes widened when they caught onto the bottle like a love stuck puppy. She waved it in front of his face, amused at how his eyes followed its movement.

God, if only a sober Sasuke could see himself right now from outside his body. She chuckled inwardly, but didn't lose her tough facade. "Now, Uchiha, why the _fuck_ are you here?"

He eventually gave up his fight for the bottle when she hid it behind her back, falling for her cunning ways. Deciding that the alcohol was worth his dignity, he answered her question, letting his tongue run a bit wild from his drunken state. "I didn't want any part in Naruto or his strippers. Getting drunk with him was my idea, but the strippers were completely his," he admitted. "That's why I left and ended up coming... here," he said, waving his arms and gesturing to his apartment.

Sakura was truly baffled. Was he joking or was he actually being serious? Sakura honestly couldn't tell. The Sasuke Uchiha which she had heard shit about would want to stay with the strippers to have a good time. The Sasuke Uchiha in front of her seemed to enjoy _her _company more than paid whores... odd.

"So my house is now a refuge for a fugitive hoping to get away from his best friend and six strippers?"

When he didn't reply and only gave her a look that said everything she didn't want to hear, she simply sighed in defeat, her tensed shoulders deflating like balloons. "Alright, Uchiha, you're off the hook." Before he could even grin in succession, she turned swiftly back into her evil side, reciting with practiced ease, "But try anything to test my patience again and I'll cut you up like a fucking piece of meat, you got it?"

Her warning went unheeded as he simply nodded his head, grabbed the vodka bottle out of her loosened grip and walked straight past her to crash on her sofa. He didn't even look fazed at her violent, bossy tendencies when she was grated the wrong way, which annoyed Sakura even more. But ignoring the voices in her mind to fucking shred him up, she went to actually join Sasuke on her sofa, pushing his legs off half of it and making some space for her to sit comfortably.

"You know, it wouldn't be so hard to actually take your shoes off when you walk into someone's apartment," she scolded, but in a less threatening tone than before. She looked at him with a glare that he should now proceed to take his shoes off.

However, instead, he leant with his back against the arm rest and then had the audacity to prop his legs on her lap. Wiggling his feet, he silently signalled for her to be his own little slave and take his leather brogues off for him.

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" she said, glaring at him even harder, whilst he simply smirked at her with a persuasive tilt of his head. Eventually, she gave in with a frustrated little cry and continued to roughly undo his shoelaces on each foot, yanking his shoe off and throwing it to the other side of his apartment. "Happy?" she asked sarcastically.

However, sarcasm wasn't something that registered in the drunken Sasuke's mind. "Very," he smugly replied, getting comfortable on her sofa, now only donning a pair of socks on his feet. He didn't remove his legs from her lap, but she didn't do anything to push him off either. She could see his hands resting behind his head, as his eyes slowly shut. She couldn't help but to gaze upon his serene features, really taking in for the first time how handsome he really was. The contours of his face looked like they were carved from stone and a perfect replication of a Greek god.

"Like what you see?" Sasuke suddenly asked, cracking one eye open to examine Sakura's flushed face at being caught. He smirked at this, appreciating how he could make her blush such a vicious pink. All of a sudden, he had a cracking idea to pull her into him. Sakura suddenly squealed when she felt his hand tug on her arm and she was suddenly falling right into his chest. He put a protective arm around her, their legs tangling up in each other, so that it was almost impossible to tell which limb was whose.

Her face suddenly flared up in a surge of temperature. Her body tensed against his, and although Sasuke could blatantly feel this, he ignored her discomfort and simply hugged her tighter, revelling in her body warmth.

Another bright idea sparked in Sasuke's mind, as the one hand which gripped the bottle of alcohol wrapped tighter around Sakura's tiny waist.

"Want to play a game?" he asked from below her form.

She popped her head up to look at him with a curious expression, her attention piqued at his proposal.

Taking this as a sign to continue, he went on to elaborate: "We take turns asking each other questions about anything and everything. If you refuse to answer seriously and honestly, then you take a shot." He held up the bottle of cheap vodka in his hands to further explain with a wicked glint in his eyes.

Her face suddenly lit up in a huge Cheshire grin, liking where this was going. "Alright," she eagerly agreed, loving the thought of a challenge and a way to dig into Sasuke's personal life.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sasuke noticed that Sakura's body had relaxed considerably and now she was simply lying on his chest, like she was meant to be there all along. Her fingers were even tracing an Aztec pattern all over his shirt, sending pleasurable fissions running along in his chest.

"I'll start," Sakura said, "What is your ultimate guilty pleasure?"

He hummed a little in thought, before replying with no restraint, "The Lion King."

Sakura scrunched up her nose at this, before bursting into a fit of giggles. "You are such a sap, Sasuke Uchiha! Do we have a closet Disney fan over here, ladies and gentlemen?" she asked to no one in particular as she burst into another laughing fit.

Sasuke calmly ignored her, unfazed in his drunken state. "My turn. What colour panties are you wearing?"

Sakura's laughter immediately died, as the colour instantly rose to her cheeks. "I am not answering that, you little fucked up pervert!" she objected, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sasuke gave her a cheeky smirk before thrusting the bottle towards her. "Bottoms up," he smugly said.

Sakura glared at him, already disliking the direction that this game was heading. She snatched the bottle out of his hands nevertheless, unscrewing the lid and tilting her head right back to shoot the vodka straight down her throat. An approximation of a shot worth was enough to have her spluttering and coughing at the bitterness, burning her throat and making her eyes tear up.

"Bleurgh!" she expressed, squeezing her eyes shut and swallowing continuously to try and get the wretched taste off her tongue.

Sasuke simply chuckled, but his mirth was short-lived, as Sakura continued the game.

"What do you fear most in the whole world?"

Sakura could tell this touched a personal spot, by the pained expression which hid in those deep onyx eyes of his. She was about to hand him back the bottle and tell him to drink up, but the alcohol he had consumed with Naruto had loosened his tongue. Had he been sober, Sasuke probably wouldn't have told a single soul of all these confessions...

"My older brother," he muttered unintelligently. It was quiet and Sakura strained to hear it, but when she did, her brows involuntarily knitted together in confusion.

"Your brother?" She remembered reading an article somewhere which stated that the oldest Uchiha sibling had run off to pursue a career in music, and thus, the title of the heir of the Uchiha Industries fell into the hands of Sasuke. If he had run away, most likely far from the reaches of Tokyo, why was Sasuke still afraid of him?

As if reading her mind, Sasuke elaborated further: "His band has an exclusive record contract with Sony Music and before long, he'll have singles and albums out. He'll fucking rise to prominence and then my dad will realise that Itachi's power is thrice as influential as mine, even as heir to his business. And then before you know it, I'll be out of my dad's good books and pushed aside like garbage. It's always been like that," he explained, his teeth gritted in evident anger.

Sakura couldn't help but to sympathise with him. His father's full attention on Itachi for most of Sasuke's childhood had left the younger Uchiha to feel neglected and worthless. Sakura wasn't surprised at his fury and his apparent jealousy. In fact, if it was her, she would have been _livid_.

"So..." she started tentatively, "...You fear him because his band will soon be able to overpower you. Your father will see this and then..." she hesitated here, stalling on what exactly his dad will do once this happens.

Sasuke thankfully finished her sentence for her. "And then he'll give the title of heir back to Itachi and I'll be left with nothing."

His face turned stony and cold in a moment as he uttered those words. His whole body had tensed beneath her, and his bruising grip around her waist tightened considerably.

Without even thinking, Sakura's fingers had crawled round to where his hand lay on her body. She gripped onto it, squeezing gently in a comforting manner. As her hands entwined with his, he looked down at her, startled at the sudden show of affection, but she only smiled up at him genially. The warmth from her hand on his seeped through his skin and coursed through his bloodstream and he couldn't help but to smile gently back at her.

The rest of the night was spent finishing their game, each drinking enough shots to put an elephant to sleep and finding out more and more about each other. However, Sakura just drank that one extra sip which sent her careening into the deep recess of unconsciousness, as she passed out on Sasuke's chest. Seeing her breathing slowly start to grow heavier and more paced, he soon followed after her, closing his eyes and revelling in the foreign body warmth which emitted from the pink-haired girl sprawled out on top of him.

* * *

><p><em>Oh my god, I end up finding so much on Facey-b that there's really no point in any other url except that one. It's like birthdays, deaths, gossip - like what the hell? Society is so messed up. <em>

_And YES, THIS IS STILL A SASUxSAKU ROMANCE! Don't be deceived! I got so much grief on how it seemed like I was fixing Sakura up with Gaara, but no! I'm not too sure of how Sasuke and Sakura will come together in the end, but they will! _

_Also, trust me to get ill when I finally have a one week break from school, it's so typical :/ _

_And I'll end for today with a cheeky link to my new blog, if you're interested in fashion, beauty, random posts about gorgeous people, or just generally bored and need a new read: _

_fashionbreakfastclub . wordpress . com (without the spaces)_


	8. If You Wanna

_The Social Scene_

_Chapter 8_

_I don't want to see you with another guy_  
><em>But the fact is that I may<em>  
><em>That's what all the friends I do not like as much as you say<em>

_ - The Vaccines_

* * *

><p><em><span>(Because I haven't updated in like three months...) Previously:<span>_

_Sakura is a waitress for upper-class, socialite events in order to pay for a medicine degree. She encounters Sasuke who makes a secret bet with his best friend, Naruto, to make our heroine fall in love with him before New Year Eve's (about four months away in this story). However, a love triangle emerges in the embodiment of Gaara, who is a photographer and part-time chef. Sakura agreed to model for him to help him with his project. In the last chapter, Sasuke came over to Sakura's apartment, drunk and looking for a place to crash. She lets him in and they play a drinking game, in which Sakura learns that Sasuke has troubles with his father and his brother and eventually, this brings them closer... before they both pass out on her sofa._

* * *

><p>Sakura's eyes slowly flitted open, squinting at the harsh light which filtered through her windows, her head pounding for reasons currently unknown. She groaned as she rolled over, thinking that she had more space on her bed, but when her body failed to meet the soft, welcoming feel of a mattress, and landed on rock hard wood panelling floors, she groaned loudly, feeling the bruising that would inevitably pop up all over her sensitive body.<p>

She writhed on the floor, her eyes finally adjusting to her surroundings. A thin blanket was tangled around her limbs as she realised that she was suddenly far from her bedroom. Instead, she was lying on the floor of her living room, just metres from where she had fallen off her sofa.

Her eyes popped open, as she heard the shower running in the background, the sound of water hitting tiles invading her ears. When the water suddenly stopped and she heard a body open the shower door and step onto the bathroom floor, Sakura's breathing stopped, a fearful whimper building in her throat.

The first thoughts which eventually registered in her mind was that she was going to die at the hands of a murderer who had broken into her apartment whilst she had been mysteriously asleep on her sofa. Her theory didn't explain how she had gotten from her bed to the sofa in the first place, or why this murderer was using her shower, but her fear of her untimely death was slightly more important than dwelling on the insignificant details.

Whilst she had been absorbed in her terrifying thoughts, she hadn't even heard the soft tapping of bare feet on her laminated floors. It stopped in the threshold to her living room and she heard the light, velvety chuckle which made her insides instantaneously freeze over.

She took a cautious glance behind her, and her eyes widened even further as she took in the sight before her. Unfortunately for Sakura, she was still unceremoniously sprawled out on her floor. But when she had looked up, her eyes had been graced with a vision she had never hoped to see until she was married.

The body of a male was standing before her, clad only in a loose towel slung low around his hips and a wet glaze to his chest. His stomach donned a prominent six-pack and his biceps were well-endowed and masculine as a lazy arm leant against her door frame. She moved her eyes slowly to meet his face but spluttered in disbelief as the fresh face of Sasuke Uchiha stood smirking down at her, his wet hair mussed, yet still impossibly sexy, light tendrils dripping small water droplets down his cheeks.

She couldn't help but to gape at his half-naked form, whether because she was flustered like crazy or because of the impossibility that the Uchiha was in her apartment when she had just woken up. The implications behind this raced through her mind and only made her blush deepen, almost scorching her skin like acid burns.

Her memories of anything before the morning events were hazy and she certainly didn't remember anything of the night before. The pounding in her head and the nausea building in her stomach threatened to tip her over the edge and to just vomit all over her living room floor. Sasuke saw her sickly and confused expression, and couldn't help but to laugh internally.

"Don't you remember anything?" he asked with a smug little grin on his face.

His rumbling voice made Sakura grimace as his sentence sent vibrations through her skull which didn't bode well with her persistent headache.

"Too loud," she grumbled as she clambered back onto her sofa to bury her head back into the arm rest, attempting to block out her unfortunate reality.

Taking that as a negative, he paced over to her, grabbing a box of ibuprofen and a glass of water from her kitchen. He sat on the end of the sofa by her feet and pulled down the blanket which she was attempting to cover her face with.

"Here," he offered, thrusting the medicine and the water into her hands as he helped her sit up. She obliged without a word, willing this headache away so much that she didn't even care at the present moment why Sasuke was here and showering in her apartment.

She placed the now empty glass back onto a table by the couch, noticing absentmindedly the empty vodka bottle there as well.

"Did you use my shampoo?" she asked sceptically as she caught a whiff of wild peach which was normally only accustomed to her own locks.

He hummed as if to say yes. "A bit too feminine for my tastes though," he stated, scrunching his nose in distaste.

She chuckled lightly, but then suddenly remembered the state of undress which Sasuke was in and her furious blush attacked her cheeks once again, realising his current proximity to her body.

Sasuke, noticing this, leaned in even closer to her, reaching his hand above her head to rest next to it on the sofa's armrest.

She tried to divert her prying gaze elsewhere, but when she saw the muscles in his arms flexing so enticingly, she just couldn't rip her eyes away.

"Like what you see?" he asked, smirking down at her body, which was closing in on itself more and more, as if trying to disappear through her sofa.

However, at this question, she suddenly had a jolt of déjà vu, as she remembered _everything_ from the night before.

"_Like what you see?" _

_"So my house is now a refuge for a fugitive hoping to get away from his best friend and six strippers?"_

_"Want to play a game?"_

_"What is your ultimate guilty pleasure?"_

_"Bottoms up."_

_"What do you fear most in the whole world?"_

"_My dad will realise that Itachi's power is thrice as influential as mine, even as heir to his business. And then before you know it, I'll be out of my dad's good books and pushed aside like garbage."_

The events hit her present memory like lightning bolts, shocking her enough for her back to straighten up and to push Sasuke off of her. Her hand instinctively went up to her head, cradling her forehead as she groaned to herself at the memory of just how much she had to drink in that _stupid_ game which Sasuke had proposed to play after crashing at her apartment.

"Oh my god," she groaned, cradling her legs and rocking back and forth as she thought about what kind of _insane _cognitive state she must have been in yesterday to let an Uchiha into her house and to play idiotic drinking games with him.

"You finally remembered?" Sasuke asked with a suspiciously smug tone.

The implications told Sakura something was deadly wrong and she wracked her brains for why his voice was so arrogant, like he knew something she didn't.

Suddenly, her memory propelled her to the embarrassing moment when she had actually comforted Sasuke by... _holding his hand_. She cringed at the thought but nevertheless, when she spotted the little cocky smirk on Sasuke's lips, she glared at him icily, as if blaming him for all of her misfortune.

"P-Put a goddamn shirt on, Uchiha," she said coldly, after she couldn't think of a better insult to throw at him, just so she could knock that grin off his face. She threw the blanket off of her and stormed off to have a shower.

As Sasuke heard the bathroom door slam shut, he chuckled to himself, finding it amusing how easily he could unnerve Sakura. However, his thoughts were cut short as he heard his mobile sound out a generic ring tone.

Searching for his mobile and finally finding it wedged between the folds of Sakura's sofa (how it got there was beyond him), he coolly answered.

"Hello?"

"_Yoo, Sasuke!_" Naruto's voice rang out, almost deafening the Uchiha.

"Naruto," Sasuke replied, his tone suddenly detached. He was never pleased to hear Naruto's voice when he was either hanging or when it was the morning – at the moment, it was both, which made the blonde's phone call even more dreadful.

"_I just wanted to remind you of our little_ bet," he chimed with a little snug tone; Sasuke could just imagine that inkling of an evil smirk on Naruto's usually friendly face.

But Sasuke was turned silent as that little word suddenly woke him from whatever reverie he had been in –_ bet_.

This was the bet where he had to make Sakura Haruno fall in love with him before New Year's Eve otherwise he would have to give her up completely – the bet which he had completely forgotten about...

"_Sasuke...? Sasuke, you still there?_" he heard Naruto ask worriedly. Sasuke jolted from his daydream with a startle, before acknowledging that he was listening with a low grunt. "_Soo... how's it going?"_ Naruto pried.

"Fucking fine," he lied through gritted teeth, clenching the mobile in his hand so tight that his knuckles were turning a deathly white.

"_So you're on track to getting Saku to falling head over heels in love with you?"_ Naruto mockingly swooned but chuckled darkly at the end.

Sasuke's stomach involuntarily twisted at that, but he kept a straight poker face and squeezed out a meek "Yes".

"_Good,_" Naruto replied bluntly, his whole immature tone clicking instantly. "_That's all I really wanted to call for. So... see you later." _With that, Naruto ended the call with a soft tap and the line was dead.

Sasuke sighed as he rested back into Sakura's sofa, uncaring that he still only had a towel wrapped around his lower region. He sifted a shaking hand through his damp hair before resolutely pushing himself up and getting dressed into yesterday's clothes. Forgetting about the bet would only result in tangled up feelings which Sasuke was sure he was incapable of. Yet, if he was so sure of his ice cold heart, why did he feel the sudden panic which had gradually started to consume him?

.&.

Sakura had just washed the last of the bubbles out of her hair and was just about to step out the shower whilst reaching for her towel. She felt so much fresher now that she had showered and her headache and nausea had calmed down to only a dull throb which she could easily ignore.

However, as she was wiping herself dry, she heard the front door click open and a few instances later, it slammed shut again, the force vibrating all of the thin walls of her apartment.

She instantly froze, her hair dripping with water and splashing onto the tiles rhythmically like a ticking clock. "Sasuke?" she shouted out uncertainly. With no reply, she secured her towel around her body, unlocked the door and poked her head around the corner cautiously. "Sasuke?" she shouted again, but to no avail. Judging by a lack of response, she had guessed that he had left without any warning and so she fully stepped out of her bathroom.

Approaching the living room clutching her towel to her body, she saw a small fluorescent sticky note which was taped to her coffee table and she scoffed as she bent over to pick it up.

_Family business.  
>Call you later. S.<em>

Sakura brows instantly furrowed, sensing that something wasn't quite right with this picture. People only played the 'family' card when they couldn't find any other excuse. By the looks of it, Sasuke couldn't run away fast enough. He even abbreviated his name into a one-letter initial!

Scoffing and trying hard not to give a shit, she crumpled the note in one firm palm before throwing it from across the room straight into a trashcan.

.&.

It had been a few days since Sakura had last spoken to Sasuke. She had tried not to count the excruciating hours but it had all added up to 110. And even though Sasuke hadn't cared to call, Gaara had... about a million times. Sakura had dropped by his apartment so many times in the last week that she was practically living there. He always called to see if she was free so he could shoot some more photos of her in different contexts or different outfits, and the ever-kind Sakura just couldn't say no.

"Hey, you don't think we could take a little breather, could we?" Sakura asked as her body sagged from holding it in the same pose for the last hour or so. She was currently stood dressed head to toe in white in front of a blank screen; the only thing that stood out was her eccentric pink hair. To be completely honest, she didn't get the whole artsy contrast, but if Gaara instructed her to pose, she tried her best to please without questions asked.

Gaara hummed in approval before placing down his camera on a coffee table and going over to his open kitchen unit. "Drink?" he asked simply, opening up his fridge before she had replied and throwing her a bottle of Vitamin Water. She caught it easily, thanking him before taking a deep swallow of the drink. Taking a seat by the kitchen island, she whimsically spun around in the high stool, humming the same tune repeatedly under her breath.

"You know, Sakura," Gaara started, breaking Sakura out of her daydream, "You've gotten really good at modelling. You don't even need Nirvana on anymore to relax you. You're practically a pro already."

Sakura blushed before waving her hand dismissively at his charming compliments. "Ever the sweet-talker, Gaara," she joked.

"I'm not kidding, Sakura. You could seriously become a model, and not some muse for a shitty photographer."

"Oh, come on! Don't be so hard on yourself, you're great!"

He attempted a half smile but it turned out as a sad, forlorn grimace as he swept a hand through his messy, red hair. "I'm not even breaking-even with these photos. And even though you put up with my shit all the time, you don't even get paid for it."

"I'm not doing this for the money, Gaara," she stated, feeling a little offended that he may have thought she was.

"I'm not saying you are," he quickly defended, which seemed to relieve Sakura slightly. "But your talent really should be put to better use. The whole world should be able to see and acknowledge your beauty."

Really, if she blushed anymore, Sakura was sure that her cheeks would be able to cook an egg on them.

As if he had a self-induced epiphany, Gaara suddenly tensed up and stood up straighter. In a 'eureka' sort of moment, he seemed to have formulated a plan, although a plan for what, Sakura wasn't quite sure and she was uneasy when his jade eyes lit up as if a light bulb had gone off in his brain.

Slowly, he walked over to where she was currently sat whilst reciting with a sort of boyish excitement, "I've got it. The funding for this project and the way to finally let the whole of Japan see how _cute_ you really are..." At the word 'cute' he pinched one of her cheeks like a doting relative, as she looked up at him with innocent, doe eyes, still unsure as to where he was going with all of this. "Sometimes, I work with professional fashion models to shoot some photos for reputable magazines. One of my top employers is ViVi magazine. You ever heard of it?"

ViVi... No she hadn't. After all, she practically lived in a cave. She shook her head lightly, eager to learn from Gaara, who she now felt obliged to call 'Sensei'...

"ViVi is a monthly magazine which is published in Japan, China, Taiwan and Thailand. I mean, boy, this publication is huge right now amongst young females! The frequent ViVi models are gorgeous and they pose in all the latest clothes in a variety of everyday contexts. They're approachable, realistic young girls, like yourself. And you'll be the perfect next ViVi model to debut. So what do you say?"

She felt a bit gobsmacked after she had taken all that in, her eyes now wide, circular sockets of pure... speechlessness. "W-Well... I say it sounds as if commercialism has really gotten the better of you..." she replied honestly, as she gave out a little nervous laugh. "I don't really want to sell clothes for a living, Gaara!"

No matter what she said, he seemed to still have his bright grin fixed in place. "Oh, come on, Sakura! It's tons of fun on the shoots and you'll fit right in!"

"I want to become a doctor, not an airhead model! I want to help people and cure terminal illnesses!"

"I promise it won't take up all your time. You only have to attend a few photo shoots, maybe a few launch parties and press conferences, but no biggie... I'll be able to help you and become your unofficial manager, or something. And plus, if you do this, my project will finally be able to be acknowledged... 'cause, you know, if a Vivi model is featured in my exhibition, it'll get the attention I need to really launch myself in this photography career."

His proposal did have a sort of appeal, unless it was just the way he was selling it which seemed to be so persuasive. But either way, she couldn't deny that a life as a model really did seem to have a glamorous twist to it.

"Look, come over here for a sec'," he said, ushering her over to his lounge, where on the coffee table was a whole stack of various magazines. He pulled one out from the bottom of his pile, indifferent to the way the stack just toppled over like a game of Jenga, spilling all over his fur rug. "You see this," he asked, pointing to the paper publication, "This is ViVi from last month. Cool, huh?"

She gripped the magazine in her hands, intrigued by the front cover. It was just like every other magazine she happened to see, the bright masthead in the top left corner with three gorgeous, Japanese models on the front, looking as if they were having the time of their lives. As she was flicking through, she was mildly surprised to see that it did look like a fine magazine, with pages upon pages of photos of beautiful girls. And what pleased Sakura even more was to see mixed-race models, like her, featured frequently.

"It is rather impressive," she stated tentatively.

"So, what do you say?" he asked with his eager bright eyes back again.

Licking her lips in contemplation, she carefully calculated the drawbacks and the advantages. But Gaara's impatient, repetitive remarks of "Come on, Sakura!" and "You know you want to!" put her on the spot , and before she could stop herself, her tongue moved on its own accord.

"Alright!" she burst out, silencing the whole apartment for a few seconds. It felt like all the traffic and shuffling feet outside just suddenly halted; the whole world stopped spinning, as Sakura's fate had just been sealed.

Gaara's eyes widened a fraction, surprised that she had accepted. Suddenly, he threw her a large grin, chuckling deeply as he picked her to spin her around until she felt nauseous. As he put her down onto the welcoming ground, he kept his hands lingering on her waist, obviously more for practical reasons than for anything as he was worried that she would be too dizzy to stand on her own.

"Then it's settled. Congratulations on your new job."

Sakura swallowed hard when her reality hit her right between the eyes. What happened to her non-complicated, _normal_ student life? As boring as that other life was, she really wished she could have it back again...

* * *

><p><em>First off, I really want to apologize for the lack of updates. I'm seriously stressing out at the moment and I honestly doubt you'll get another update till summer time after all my exams. Make sure to get story alerts to keep track of when I do get round to update ;)<em>

_Soooo, I'm reallyyyyyy grateful if you're still reading this story, even though you've probably forgotten what it's about (hence the cliche 'previously' at the beginning), and also thanks for any new readers who have come to read my story. Love you all!_

_Secondly, ViVi Magazine is real! And the models are all gorgeous! I normally go to HK and buy the Chinese version, but it did come from Japan originally. Seriously, it's THE BEST MAGAZINE EVER! Google it or something, but I really liked the idea of Sakura becoming a ViVi model - makes me kinda' jealous..._

_Thirdly, I've not been keeping up to date with Gossip Girl too much at the moment, but I'm at a point where I'm just like, OMG, how crazy is this? Because GG seems to have 'stole' a lot of my ideas in this story, lol. The whole waitress and the rich socialite? Who would have thought? But seriously, I didn't copy, they didn't copy, and so it was just a happy coincidence! _

_And for those of you who have read my other footnotes and realised it's all just random shit about my life, I MAY BE GOING TO PARIS THIS SUMMER! Eekkkk! Gonna' eat macaroons all day and stroll down the Champs-Élyséess and practice my french, whooooo! And the best part: I don't even have to worry about school and exams! Ooh la la, j'aime beaucoup Paris! _


	9. Primadonna Girl

_The Social Scene_

_Chapter 9_

_And I'm sad to the core, core, core_  
><em>Everyday is a chore, chore, chore<em>  
><em>When you give I want more more more<em>  
><em>I wanna be adored<em>

_- Marina and the Diamonds_

* * *

><p><em>Life cycle: reproduction, development, growth. Immune system, pathophysiology of genetic disease and cancer, cardiorespiratory fitness...<em>

Sakura couldn't stop reciting her revision notes over and over in her head like an incessant mantra. However, there was always something which would snap her out of her train of thought, bringing her back to reality like someone had tipped ice cold water over her head.

"...and this is the news editor..."

Sakura had snapped back to reality quick enough to shake the editor's hand and give a polite bow. However, Gaara noticed the passivity in Sakura's eyes and whilst he was guiding her from one important person to another, she was clicking in and out of reality. Her head wasn't at all in the room with her, and Gaara's patience was running thin.

He dragged her to one side of the room forcefully by her arm. "What are you doing, Sakura?" he snapped abruptly, shaking her slightly in the process.

"What do you mean?" she asked as if it were obvious. "I'm at a launch party, you're introducing me to people, I'm obediently greeting back."

"Yes, but you're greeting people like a mindless drone," he sighed. "What happened to that cute, charismatic girl who I took all those fantastic photos of?"

Sakura sighed out in frustration and pushed her hair out of her face. "_That_ girl is currently out of the building and in her place is _this_ girl," she remarked, gesturing at her own body. "This girl, who has an exam tomorrow and has not had the time to revise _at all_!"

As much as Sakura was freaking out and on the verge of hyperventilating or having a nervy b, Gaara simply rolled his eyes and took her firmly by her shoulders. "Sakura, this is supposed to the most important event of your flourishing modelling career. You're at your own launch party, on the cover of a fashion magazine – everyone is here for _you_," he enunciated, leading her back to the centre of the room where people mingled and drank endless amounts of champagne. "Now, stop thinking so hard about that exam, and just enjoy yourself."

Sakura had to admit that, as much as she initially regretted her decision to feature as a frequent model for ViVi magazine, she had experienced her fair share of its perks. Her life had certainly become more interesting; in the last few weeks, she had been invited to meetings, non-stop photography shoots which would run into the early hours and right now, she was even attending the launch party for this month's ViVi with her on the cover.

She couldn't get over the fact that she was actually on the cover of a national magazine. It had even been blown up to twice her height and was placed in the centre of the room where everyone had access to admire her. She had blushed furiously when she walked into the room at the start of the evening to notice that everyone had received a complimentary copy of the issue and were flicking through the article which covered her debut. As she had walked past, they had all acknowledged her and congratulated her. Although she wouldn't admit it out loud, Sakura kind of, sort of, _maybe_ enjoyed the attention which she had felt like she had been deprived of all of her life.

Gaara continued his introductions around the room and for the first time in that evening, Sakura genuinely smiled whilst she greeted back. Her head continued to spin in delirious circles, so much so that she didn't even realise until it happened that she had crashed into someone. The impact made her stumble back and she would have tripped over her own feet if the body she had walked into hadn't have held her firmly around the waist and balanced her.

"Whoa there," the body said, but Sakura almost recoiled when she realised that the voice was sickeningly familiar.

"Sasuke?"

.&.

4 hours before

"I heard the richest gossip today, Sasuke. Wanna' hear it?" Even before Sasuke could object, Karin had started her story and Sasuke knew that it would be hard to interrupt her now that she was off.

"...and that bitch thinks she can get away with it!" She gave out a scornful little laugh as she nonchalantly inspected her nails as she was stretched out on Sasuke's chaise longue, supporting her head with her palm.

Karin had popped up at Sasuke's Roppongi apartment without even asking for an invite and had suggested that they 'catch up over a couple of dry martinis'. As much as Sasuke hated Karin's company, he could do little without getting his eyes clawed out in the presence of the fiery red-head, certainly when she wouldn't let him have a word in edgeways.

"Hn..." was all Sasuke replied with, a sign that he hadn't really listened at all to what she had said.

Karin rolled her eyes at him, before pushing herself off the couch. "What are you even doing?" she asked, as she made her way to peer over his shoulder as he sat on the spacious window seat with his MacBook in his lap tapping away furiously at the keys.

As she came over, however, Sasuke quickly closed the lid to his laptop, glaring at her expectantly. At the burning hostility in his eyes, she backed away from him slightly, but thankfully for her, she had caught the slightest glimpse at the screen before he had gotten all defensive and angry.

She slinked closer to him with a coy glint behind those Prada, tortoise-shell glasses. "Sasuke~" she melodically sang, poking him in the chest lightly, "Is someone not telling me something? 'Top tips to get someone to fall in love with you'?" she recited from her photographic memory.

She giggled in an almost sadistic way as she saw Sasuke narrow his eyes in a threatening glare. "You could've just said so, Sasuke," she threw a smirk behind her shoulder as she made a turn about the room. Sasuke realised that Karin thought that Sasuke was trying to make her fall in love with him, and besides trying not to quietly puke up his brunch, he narrowed his eyes further, followed her every step with his murderous gaze. When she suddenly stopped and whizzed around, she strode back to his place at the window seat and struck an intelligent finger into the air as she recited her philosophy: "The one thing that you men should learn early in their lives is that the only way to get a woman to fall in love with you is with diamonds."

She smiled as she whimsically fingered the spot at the base of her neck as a suggestive hint which didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke.

Sasuke scoffed internally and ignored her as he turned to face the window, which overlooked a spectacular view of the city. He was so high up in his penthouse suite that all the cars and people were unfocused and blurry and out-of-reach. He reverently touched the glass with the tip of his finger, as if it had landed on an exact geographical coordinate on a map. The distant buildings which he could make out at the tips of his fingers were approximately in the area he knew to be where Sakura lived.

"Hey, Sasuke, come to a party with me tonight." Karin's statement wasn't even a negotiable question but an imperative in the best commanding voice which she could muster.

And without thinking, Sasuke had replied with his trademark, "Hn".

It wasn't till after her gleeful cheer and the exclamation that she needed to find something to wear for the occasion did Sasuke click at what he had unknowingly got himself into. To spend a whole evening with Karin latched onto his arm was _the_ most unbearable thing which could happen to Sasuke. And yet he didn't know that his trademark syllable had now become a synonym for 'yes'...

But before he could stop her and reject her offer, she was already in the elevator and off going to get a dress fitted for what she had labelled a 'date' with Tokyo's most eligible bachelor.

.&.

4 hours later

Sasuke hadn't particularly dressed up for the occasion. He had opted for a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans and a Ralph Lauren button-down shirt. He had left the top few buttons undone and donned a pair of smart, pointed derby shoes.

Karin, on the other hand, couldn't say the same. She had dressed to the nines in a floor-length Givenchy number with her hair professionally curled and pinned by her personal hair stylist. She had even finished off her outfit with heirloom pieces of jewellery, including earrings swarmed with iridescent diamonds, which shimmered like the detached wings of flies. They seemed to weigh down her ears and she could barely move her head without the earrings trying to pull at her lobe painfully.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her theatrics. As far as he knew, they were only going to a magazine launch party – an occurrence which happened every month when a new issue would be published. Sasuke was sure that the party would only hold a few rich socialites, but the guests were otherwise the down-to-earth artsy types or people from the fashion world who worked to earn their living. Why Karin was even dressing up in such formal attire was beyond him and something he hoped only the women of the utmost wealthiest breeding found reasonable.

Of course, Sasuke found obliged to be a gentleman for the night, despite how much he hated Karin's unbearable guts. So he had picked her up in his limo, served her champagne and walked into the venue arm-in-arm with her, but never had a smile ever made its way onto his face.

As they made their way to the door, Sasuke could already feel the thumping bass of the DJ. _'Yep, Karin's way too dressed up.'_

But Karin still carried her dignity with an air of aristocracy and strode into the party as if she were the Queen of England with the Duke of Edinburgh on her arm. He blocked out her whiny bitching about the venue, the people and the decor, as he examined the place with a careful eye. It wasn't a particularly impressive building but it wasn't half bad either – not nearly as awful as Karin was making it out to be.

However, Sasuke had barely processed everything until his body collided with someone else, the force only slightly shaking him. But as for the other figure, it was much smaller than him and obviously female. She stumbled back in shock and would've fallen to the ground had he not reacted in time. He quickly unlinked his arms with Karin and held them out to steady the girl.

"Whoa there," he said, placing his warm hands on the girl's shoulders.

"Sasuke?" the figure below him exclaimed with a voice he could recognise any day.

He whipped his head down, and sure enough he saw the flash of pink even in the dim lighting and the equally incredulous expression of Sakura Haruno. As if her flesh had burnt his palms, he immediately let go of her, placing his arms awkwardly by his sides. They hadn't seen or spoken to each other since the time at her apartment. Sakura was way too busy, and Sasuke... well, Sasuke was actually trying to come up with a master plan to get her to fall in love with him, but it had taken longer than he had expected.

Sasuke cleared his throat uncomfortably, glancing towards his side, where a fuming Karin looked expectantly back and forth between Sasuke and Sakura's exchange.

"Sakura," he greeted after a while, "Are you waitressing here?" he asked as he looked down at her form. However, to his surprise, she didn't have the same waitressing uniform on as the others, and instead, she was dressed up in a strapless, black hi-low dress with her long hair flowing down her back in soft curls.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply but was cut-off by a low chuckle which instantaneously made Sasuke's eyes narrow even before he had seen the face of the new speaker. But sure enough, when a blood-red haired male, around the same age as Sasuke walked up to their party and slung a lazy arm around Sakura's waist, his eyes narrowed just a fraction more. He was distracted with his immediate hatred for this man that he barely noticed Sakura trying to squirm futilely out of his grasp.

"Sorry, but you've come a bit too late if you wanted to see Sakura in a waitressing apron – try _a few weeks_ late," this new addition mocked with a practised balance of acidity and indifference in his tone.

Sasuke suddenly recognised this red-head's face from somewhere and he racked his memory, trying to remember who this intruder was. Instead of an instant flashback of a specific memory, he remembered one word which slipped through his lips before he could integrate it within a sentence. "Chef...?"

"Only part-time," the newcomer replied dismissively, clearly remembering the first time he had set eyes on this onyx rich kid at an event he was catering for. To explain his explanation earlier, he elaborated, "Sakura quit all her waitressing jobs." Sasuke looked visibly disturbed by this, looking at Sakura for confirmation. But before he could receive any, the man interrupted his thoughts. "You must be Sasuke Uchiha," he greeted, as Sasuke narrowed his eyes suspiciously, wondering how this _lowlife chef_ knew his name. "I'm Gaara," he introduced as he extended his hand for Sasuke to shake.

As much as Sasuke wanted to punch the smug expression off Gaara's face, he remained calm and civil, and reluctantly decided to firmly take his hand in his own and offer a steady handshake. "Pleasure," he gritted out forcefully, finding it hard to even shape his lips around the syllables. "So, I was asking you Sakura," he purposely stressed, attempting to exclude Gaara from the conversation, "what are you doing here?"

Much to his aggravation, however, Gaara cut into the conversation again, speaking for the pink-haired girl, as Sakura simply stood docilely to the side. "Look around, Uchiha, and you'll see the answer pretty quickly." He smirked challengingly at the Uchiha, and Sasuke glared back just as threateningly. Nonetheless, Sasuke did eventually tear his eyes away and took a proper look around the party. On first inspections, it seemed like any other regular event like this, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he tried to find answers. However, his eyes suddenly narrowed in on the centre of the room, where a large piece of card hung on suspended wires. It was the cover of this month's edition of ViVi, but something attracted him to it. Zooming in, he realised with baffled fascination that the cover girl was Sakura. It suddenly clicked for him, as his gaze continued to travel across the room, over all the guests, who seemed to be absorbed in flicking through the magazine – on the pages, photographs upon photographs of Sakura were pasted within them.

His gaze finally landed back to Gaara and Sakura and he couldn't help the surprise from reaching his expression. Whilst Gaara's eyes conveyed his arrogance and amusement, Sakura almost looked embarrassed and... ashamed? Her head hung low and she was glancing up at him through her mascara-laden eyelashes.

"You're a... model?" he tripped over his words as he tried to get his head around this newfound revelation. It was true, he was impressed. But not particularly shocked. After all, Sakura was a beautiful woman; anyone would be a fool to not see her beauty. The thing that had thrown Sasuke off so much was how she had made it in such a short time. He was normally on top of all the news which flowed around the Tokyo prefectures, but he had not heard about a new ViVi model – and a new ViVi model would definitely perk his interests. They were all known for their beauty and their magnetism. He had even dated one before, but their relationship had only lasted a couple of weeks yet it still made front-page news.

Sakura meekly nodded her head to his previous question and awaited a reaction. Would he laugh and tell her she was no good? Would he get angry because she had kept that side of her life a secret? Or would he simply be happy for her?

There was no foretelling until his previously neutral expression actually broke out into a small smile – although it didn't properly reach his eyes. Nevertheless he congratulated her and, trying not to lace his words with scorn, he asked, "So what role does Gaara play in all this?" He eyed the arm that was still slung around Sakura's waist, and although Sakura looked visibly uncomfortable at the physical contact, Sasuke still couldn't help but flinch when it tightened ever so slightly.

"Gaara's a photographer. You could say he actually 'discovered' me. He made me his muse for a project he'd been working on and before long he suggested that I become a ViVi model. So here I am, at my debut launch party with my manager," she smiled, gesturing towards Gaara at the latter part.

Her _manager_? Sasuke was half relieved but half taken-aback. She must spend _a lot_ of time with Gaara if he was her manager. He wasn't just saying this because he disliked Gaara, but Sasuke could sense something off with the red-head.

Cutting him off mid-thought, the previously forgotten Karin butted into the conversation, introducing herself to Gaara and Sakura with an air of supremacy.

"Lovely to meet you," Karin started with a smiled which reeked of bad intentions. "I'm Karin," she directed at Gaara, holding out her hand, and although he took it sceptically, he shook it nonetheless. Her gaze riveted to Sakura and Karin held out her hand again in much the same manner. "Hi," she introduced again, "I'm Karin, Sasuke's girlfriend."

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction but she hid her shock well enough for it to be imperceptible.

Karin slyly coiled her arm around Sasuke's and pushed her whole body against his side. With a somewhat evil glint in her eye, she smirked at Sakura triumphantly. However, it was short-lived when Sasuke suddenly cleared his throat in his fist uncomfortably and pulled away from Karin.

"_Ex_-girlfriend," he corrected, much to Karin's humiliation.

Spying Sakura and Gaara's amused expressions in the side of her eye, she suddenly bellowed an overly fake laugh and slapped Sasuke on his arm half playfully, half threateningly, as if warning him to keep his mouth shut. "Sasuke~" she sang whiningly, "That's just a minor technicality." She turned to the others with a wink, "We're working through it."

"We are?" Sasuke commented dryly, aiming a deathly glare at his ex. "Last time I heard, I broke up with you and you still can't get over it - hence the desperate visits and insistent, futile attempts at 'dates'."

Both Sakura and Gaara could barely hold in their laughter, especially when Karin's face looked like she would blow a fuse. Without another word, she turned away from him with all the melodrama she could muster, and walked away from Sasuke, grabbing a flute of champagne on her way.

Gaara also decided to steer Sakura away and over his shoulder; he announced to Sasuke, "We're going to leave you to your lover's quarrel - Sakura needs to meet more people. Have fun."

As she was being dragged away, Sakura quickly turned over her shoulder and gave Sasuke a quick smile and an impromptu wave, although a hint of regret lingered in her eyes as she continued to obediently follow behind Gaara.

* * *

><p><em>You can tell I don't do medicine because I had to google those module topics -.- <em>

_Wasn't this a quick update though? Hope you're proud of me! All my exams have finished and I have two glorious weeks off school, I'm so excited! But then again, when I have to go back, I'm starting my A2 course D: Scary times..._

_I've got the whole story clear cut in my head now and all I need to do is write it out, but trust me (and I'm not just being bias...) it's going to be EPIC! Eeekkk, hope you all look forward to it! _

_I've got so many other story ideas in my head at the moment as well, so I want to finish this one as soon as possible so I can start another. My summer is going to be full of writing, oh yeahhhhh. _


	10. Hopeless Wanderer

_The Social Scene_

_Chapter 10_

_So when your hope's on fire_  
><em>But you know your desire<em>  
><em>Don't hold a glass over the flame<em>  
><em>Don't let your heart grow cold<em>  
><em>I will call you by name<em>  
><em>I will share your road<em>

_ - Mumford & Sons_

* * *

><p>It was rare to see Sasuke out and about on the streets of Tokyo before noon, but here he was, bright and early at 9am. The weather was turning chilly as the last remnants of summer had vanished and autumn was creeping closer. Nevertheless, the streets of Shibuya were still busy with the hustle of daily activity whipping past him in a blur. He was on his way to meet Naruto for breakfast, and even though Sasuke despised Naruto's hyperactivity this early in the morning, Sasuke desperately needed to talk to his best friend and had organized the whole thing.<p>

"Sa-su-ke~!" a person called out to him just as he was about to step onto the large road crossing.

He turned around, recognising the whiny voice to be none other than Karin.

He raised his brow as he saw her running towards him in her Manolo Blahnik high heels, waving to him as she tried to catch up.

"Sasuke, wait up!" she cried.

However, Sasuke didn't feel like being a gold-hearted saint today, and he turned around and kept walking. Unfortunately for him, as he was mid-way across the road, Karin caught up, out of breath and pouting in dissatisfaction.

"Gee, Sasuke, didn't you hear me?"

He had heard her alright. _'I just chose not to stop.'_

"Hn," he actually replied, continuing to walk briskly to his destination.

"You didn't answer any of my calls last night after the party. Is Sasuke ignoring sweet Karin?" she asked in third-person, gazing up at the black-haired boy with desperate doe-eyes.

Sasuke completely ignored her question and stopped dead in his tracks right in the middle of the busy street, blocking the path for a few pedestrians. He turned towards Karin with an icy glare and spat out, "I'm meeting someone right now, Karin, and I'm in a hurry."

She innocently glanced up at him before turning away and continuing walking. Sasuke thought that he had finally gotten rid of her, but nothing was ever so simple with Karin. She turned over her shoulder and said, "Come on then, we can walk and talk."

Sasuke rolled his eyes in disbelief. She was _impossible_. "Hn," he murmured, clearly annoyed. Despite how Sasuke had completely humiliated Karin in front of both Sakura and Gaara last night at the magazine launch party and had continued not to speak to him for the rest of the night, she was now acting like it had never happened and was continuing with her infuriating stalker-ex ways. Nevertheless, he kept walking by her side, ignoring her attempt at eye contact. For a few paces they walked in complete silence, with only the sound of traffic and pedestrians around them, but Karin broke their tranquillity.

"So do you like her?"

The question had seemingly come out of nowhere and startled Sasuke. It was barely perceptible but at Karin's bluntness, he had frozen for a moment and his blood flow, his heartbeat, his thoughts, had all slowed down.

Feigning ignorance and obliviousness, he mumbled out, "Who?" as if he hadn't the faintest idea of what Karin was talking about.

The red-head sighed in a frustrated manner, pushing up her glasses. "Don't make me spell it out for you. This is painful for me too."

'_Too_'? Was it painful for Sasuke? At that current moment, he felt nothing except for a numbness which had taken over his body at Karin's first question.

When Sasuke stayed silent, Karin gave out another little dejected huff. "It seems you're stupider than I thought, Sasuke Uchiha. I was referring to Sakura. Sa-ku-ra!" she spelt out, drawing out the syllables as if she was talking to her senile aunt.

At the mention of that name, Sasuke retained the feeling in his body again, and suddenly, _something_ did feel quite painful.

"So...?" Karin expectantly asked. "Do you like her?" Inside, Karin was simmering with rage. It was obvious to herself that she was jealous of this Sakura girl. Upon meeting her at the party yesterday, Karin discovered a lot about her new competitor. Sakura was a beautiful girl, smart as well. But compared to Karin's inherited wealth and established family, Sakura had nothing on her.

Without another perceptible thought, Sasuke, in a sharp and slightly bitter tone, ground out, "No".

"Liar."

Karin's response was immediate. Even though her voice was cold and laced with jealousy, she didn't regret it, despite how Sasuke aimed a deathly glare at her. She wouldn't have normally used that tone to Sasuke, but envy had its claws firmly wrapped around her tongue. It felt like Karin was no longer in control.

"What did you just call me?" Sasuke threateningly asked, stopping his pace. The two of them were now stood in the middle of the sidewalk in a face-to-face conflict, uncaring that they were blocking the pedestrian path.

"You heard me," Karin spat out, equalling Sasuke's force. "You're a goddamn liar, and you know it. You couldn't keep your eyes off of that girl last night and I saw the way you tensed when she was near that Gaara kid."

"I don't trust him. That's all," he replied tersely, trying to make an excuse for the accusations thrown at him.

"No, Sasuke, it's obvious you're jealous."

"Jealousy is for the weak," he gritted out, growing more and more aggravated by Karin's words.

"Jealousy is for those who are in love," she corrected him, eliciting an unreadable expression from the man before her. "The only person I know who has as much jealousy stored up inside them right now... is me."

Sasuke was shocked that this was all coming from Karin. He hadn't expected her to admit so much to him.

"Even if I did... l-_like_ her," he stumbled on the 'l' word and found he didn't have the courage to say the one he had originally intended, "it's obvious that it's unrequited. She's completely uninterested."

Karin scoffed and raised a neat eyebrow. "No matter the age, the race, the size of a person, so long as they have oestrogen in their bodies, they will always feel a little attraction to you once they meet you, Sasuke Uchiha. And Sakura is no exception."

He had to admit, her speech was a little endearing. Even during the prime of their relationship, they had never just talked like they were doing now. Karin was even _helping_ him with other girls. He had never seen such a selfless Karin.

Nevertheless, a part of him just couldn't bring himself to believe Karin's words, especially since he couldn't help replaying the events of the night before over and over in his mind.

.&.

Flashback 12 hours

Sasuke's careful eyes perused the party slowly, but nothing seemed to hold his attention for very long. It always slid back to the one girl who seemed to have completely forgotten his presence. Nevertheless, he wasn't about to give up so easily. Naruto's voice resonated in his head, reminding him that he had to make Sakura fall in love with him or else he would have to give Sakura up completely to somebody like Naruto... or that Gaara punk. This thought had Sasuke grinding his teeth in an attempt to disguise his rage. But not only was Sakura on the line here, but his _pride_ was also on a knife's edge. He had never lost a bet to Naruto and he wasn't about to start.

He spotted Sakura across the room, laughing and genially conversing with an aged man with Gaara lingering at her side. Gaara's eyes were fixed to Sakura the whole time and he laughed when she laughed, as if it were all rehearsed.

Sasuke could hear fragments of their conversation, but managed to clearly pick up a section which piqued his curiosity.

"You've had that camera around your neck for the entire night, Gaara," the old man started, a genial smile hidden in the wrinkles of his face, "Why not put it to good use? You have a perfectly good subject right next to you."

Sakura's face was obviously flustered at being put in the spotlight, despite how it had happened continuously throughout the evening.

She nervously laughed, whilst sneakily throwing a threatening glare to Gaara. "Th-That's not necessary!" she squeaked, waving her hands in refusal.

"Oh nonsense!" the man replied good-heartedly. "I'm sure everyone would like to see your partnership in action," he said, referring to the 'photographer and muse' label which the duo of Gaara and Sakura had acquired over the evening.

With a small, sadistic smirk, Gaara inclined his head towards Sakura with a hinting rise of the brow. "Dare to?" he challenged.

Sakura, despite it being in her stubborn personality to never decline a challenge, shook her head furiously. She muttered below her breath that she had never posed in front of other people before, adding that it had only ever been the two of them on their shoots.

Sasuke, catching this low murmur, narrowed his eyes. Their obvious intimacy was unnerving and Sasuke found it hard to suppress what felt like an inferno eating away at his gut.

"Come on!" Gaara urged at Sakura's quick refusal. "These photos could make it in for the next issue," he tried to coax. "And plus, the lighting's good. A photographer can't refuse good lighting."

Sakura didn't need much more persuading before she nodded her head in approval, albeit a little hesitantly. "Just stand and smile, right?"

She went to stand in front of a screen with the magazine name and its sponsors repeatedly printed on it, normally used for the paparazzi. Gaara took his place a few strides away from her, hunched down slightly on bent knees and positioned his camera up to his face. He was about to click the shutter button, but his finger hesitated. He straightened up, whilst Sakura's plastered smile faltered and was replaced with a frown of confusion.

Sasuke watched the whole exchange with unblinking eyes. He was almost worried that if he dared to blink, the two of them would disappear into thin air and Sakura would be out of his life forever.

Gaara quickly walked over to Sakura, inspecting her like an artist would to a work of art. Once he was in a close proximity, close enough so that Sakura could feel the tips of the hair of her arms brush against his shirt, he looked down at her with a roguish smirk. His figure loomed over hers and she had to crane her neck to see his face. Without blinking, he licked the tip of his thumb and, with a casual nonchalance, brought his thumb up to her left eyebrow and smoothed out the loose hairs there. Her face brightened as she felt the slight wetness of his languid movement just above her eye. He shot her a last lazy smirk before walking back to his position a few paces in front of her.

Without blinking, Sasuke watched the scene with growing anger. But for some unknown reason, he just couldn't seem to peel his eyes away, no matter how strong his rage felt.

Gaara picked up his camera again, smiling at her encouragingly to pose again. However, Sakura felt immobilised and all she could do was to stand there dumbly with a large stroke of pink painted over her cheeks and her doe eyes wide with shock. Nevertheless, Gaara took the picture, and a few more extra shots for luck, perhaps finding Sakura's expression endearing and charming.

Sasuke's anger only heightened, although he didn't quite realise why he was feeling so worked up. One thing he knew for certain: when he first made this bet with Naruto, nowhere in their mutual agreement did it state anything about 3rd parties wrecking Sasuke's chances to win – namely, a red-headed,_ photographer_ 3rd party.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke resolutely decided that he would walk out of there before he would do something which he would regret in the morning.

.&.

Present

Karin had left him without any further words, walking off in the opposite direction, hoping she had made the right choice in trying to guide Sasuke towards Sakura. Although it was probably the most selfless act she was going to do in her lifetime, she seemed to hate herself even more for doing it. But if she ever wanted Sasuke to at least admire her, in a respectable way, this was what she _had_ to do – or so she decided. After all, Karin wasn't stupid. She knew when she had an impossibly slim chance of getting back together with Sasuke, and yesterday had only proved that. So instead of simply giving up on him, she wanted to leave him with a good impression, and not the obsessive bitch facade she had unknowingly adopted for the past few years.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was left gloomier then before he had talked to Karin, having been reminded of the night before. Nevertheless, it gave him a bigger incentive to rush to the cafe where he was meeting Naruto. He sped up his walk, arriving within ten minutes at the quant, yet modernised, coffeehouse, where he saw Naruto sitting at a corner table, pouring, what must have been, a gallon's worth of sugar into his cappuccino.

Noticing Sasuke from across the room, an involuntary grin spread its way across Naruto's face. "Sasuke!" he shouted rambunctiously, "Sorry I ordered without you, dude, I couldn't wait for my coffee fix." He chuckled apologetically.

How Naruto even needed caffeine in the morning really frightened Sasuke – after all, Naruto was already the most hyperactive person he knew. Naruto on caffeine should have been like a monkey on speed.

Already Naruto was talking at 97 miles per hour, even before Sasuke had sat down. Ignoring most of his useless banter, he called over a waitress and ordered an espresso. On second thought, he ordered two more, unable to think he could survive this conversation with Naruto without strong coffee.

"So you called me this morning and it sounded pretty urgent. What did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked, taking a sip from his cup.

Running a tired hand through his hair, he kept his eyes on the table. He hated how he had to admit this, but he knew somewhere in the back of his mind that this was inevitable. Speaking in a low murmur, he broke the news which had plagued him all morning to Naruto. "I'm out of the bet."

* * *

><p><em>This update is a bit late... lol, just a bit...<em>

_Hoping you're all enjoying the story so far. I really do want to finish it, but the writing process has been so slow, half from writer's block, and half because I just honestly don't have the time anymore. Maybe when I (hopefully) go to university next year, I'll just end up with loads of free time because I'll only be in uni for a few hours a week, I'll have time to write more stories? _

_On a completely unrelated note, have you noticed that in real life, the world's richest men and their heirs are all so ugly and old? Why can't it be like the movies / fanfictions where the richest man has a really hot son / is really hot himself? ): _


End file.
